Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips Dec. 4-5, 2018

Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Ryan Murray thankful injury was minor PAGE 04: Columbus Dispatch: Cam Atkinson at great point in career, life PAGE 06: Columbus Dispatch: Pierre-Luc Dubois aggravated Islanders with physical play PAGE 08: The Athletic: Why John Tortorella has framed his lineup decision as Anthony Duclair vs. Oliver Bjorkstrand PAGE 11: Columbus Dispatch: Flames 9, Blue Jackets 6: Jackets' lead dissolves in wild second- period flurry PAGE 13: Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets: Preview of tonight's game vs. Calgary PAGE 15: The Athletic: G27: Sergei Bobrovsky doesn’t get hook until late in Blue Jackets’ ugly 9-6 loss to Calgary PAGE 19: The Athletic: ‘It’s a no-hit league’: The story behind the slow death of the NHL’s ‘suicide’ pass

Cleveland Monsters/Prospects PAGE 23: The AHL: MONSTERS’ LETESTU EXCITED FOR NEW CHALLENGE

NHL/Websites PAGE 25: Seattle Times: NHL could announce October 2021 start date for new Seattle team as early as Tuesday PAGE 28: The Athletic: More slam-dunk than surprise, Seattle named NHL’s newest team PAGE 31: The Athletic: LeBrun: With Seattle official, next step is to hire a GM — and try to replicate the early success Vegas had PAGE 35: Seattle Times: After years of trying and a cast of characters in between, the NHL will finally put a team in Seattle PAGE 38: The Athletic: Pronman: Ranking the 2020 NHL Draft prospects PAGE 43: The Athletic: DGB weekend power rankings: Crazy finish to the William Nylander saga, Tom Wilson and a new number one PAGE 48: The Athletic: The answer for women’s hockey is one league. The question is, how do we get there?

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Ryan Murray thankful injury was minor

By Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch – December 3, 2018

Ryan Murray was sure he’d been snakebitten again.

A little more than eight minutes into the third period of the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 loss Saturday at the New York Islanders, the Blue Jackets defenseman took a hard shot off the left foot by Johnny Boychuk.

It left him unable to skate on it, so he left the game. Murray had X-rays taken at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum, found out it wasn’t broken and left the arena wearing a walking boot. He woke up Sunday able to walk and practiced Monday.

“I thought for sure it was broken, honestly, but I got the X-rays and everything was good,” said Murray, who missed 35 games last season after injuring his back in late November. “I’m pretty fortunate on that end.”

The Blue Jackets are, too.

Murray is off to another great start, with 13 points on a goal and 12 assists, and has played some key roles thus far. Losing him would create a big void.

“It was just one of those things where (Boychuk’s) coming right down Main Street and you’re right there, and you’re not going to move out of the way,” he said. “You’re just hoping for the best. I think it could’ve been a lot worse.”

Murray hadn’t used skate guards all season, but put a pair on Monday. The plastic guards lend added protection while blocking shots, but can restrict movement.

“I had some a few years ago and I hated them,” Murray said. “They were really bad, so I took them off. Couldn’t skate with them. These bend with your skate, so it’s a lot better.”

Bjorkstrand to play again

Oliver Bjorkstrand will play his third straight game when the Blue Jackets host the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. He’s happy to be playing, after sitting four straight games as a healthy scratch, but now forward Anthony Duclair will sit his third straight game.

Three of the Jackets’ four lines are consistently playing well, which leaves just one open spot on the third line for Bjorkstrand and Duclair to play. It’s become a competition between them, which coach John Tortorella has stated.

“Sometimes when you make it public it’s a bad thing,” Tortorella said. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I don’t think ‘Duke’ has played poorly and I don’t think Oliver Bjorkstrand has played poorly enough to be sitting out forever. That fourth line has changed the complexion of what I do.”

Quotable

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“Everybody’s screaming about a penalty. That’s a legal hit ... we hear a big boom and all of a sudden, we think it needs to be a penalty. I think it’s a legal hit.” — Tortorella on a hit the Islanders’ Thomas Hickey put on Artemi Panarin that was ruled boarding.

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Cam Atkinson at great point in career, life

By Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch – December 3, 2018

How good is life for Cam Atkinson at the moment?

Take a quick glance at his past 12 months and see for yourself. A year ago, things off the ice were pretty good. He’d signed a long-term contract extension, was planning the next stage of his life, which included putting roots down in Columbus and starting a family. He’d even switched to an Ohio driver’s license.

On the ice, things weren’t as great. Atkinson only had six goals and nine points in 23 games, bouncing around the lineup and even sitting out a game as a healthy scratch. He also broke a bone in his foot two days before Christmas, which seemed to be on par for his hockey existence.

It turned out to be exactly the kind of break he needed, as in a pause that helped turn things around. As his foot healed, Atkinson “hit the reset” button mentally and corrected a flaw in his shot. He scored a game-winning goal in his first game back, in late January, and ignited a run that’s still going.

Already the third-leading scorer in Blue Jackets history when he started the season, his assist Saturday against the Islanders was the 300th point of his career. He’s 18 away from overtaking David Vyborny for second and shows no signs of slowing.

Since returning from the broken foot Jan. 25 in Arizona last season, Atkinson has scored at a point-a- game pace, racking up 60 points on 34 goals and 26 assists in 58 games. That includes 16 goals, 11 assists and 27 points this season, sharing the team lead in scoring with Artemi Panarin. He’s on a career- best 10-game point streak.

Off the ice, things are even better. Atkinson and his wife, Natalie, welcomed infant son Declan into the world in late July and the house they’re building is nearly finished. Atkinson has also invested in a local hockey development facility called Battery Hockey, which opened in the fall.

It’s been quite a year.

“I’ve got everything I need in my life,” Atkinson said Monday. “It can’t get much better. I’m at a stage in my life where, you know, hockey’s fun.”

It sure looks that way, for him and the Jackets’ top line. Panarin also has 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists), center Pierre-Luc Dubois has 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) and together they’ve overwhelmed more than a few opponents.

They just wear teams out when they’re clicking. When they’re not, Atkinson has learned how to leave those games in the locker room. Credit Declan for that assist.

“If I have a bad game or I don’t get a point, then my boy’s not going to (care),” Atkinson said. “I’ve got bigger things to worry about — and I think that kind of lets me just play loose and play free. That’s when I’m playing my best hockey.”

Captain Nick Foligno knows that feeling three times over.

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“He’s maturing as a person,” Foligno said of Atkinson. “He’s becoming a dad and that’s probably one of the best things to ever happen to somebody in that situation. When you go home, it doesn’t really matter. You’re just like, ‘Why am I holding onto this?’ ”

Atkinson no longer does. He still cares about hockey, a ton, but now it stays in the locker room.

“I’ll still be (mad) about it, but as soon as I leave the rink, I try to keep everything (hockey related) in the building,” he said. “Mentally, I feel the best I’ve ever felt.”

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Pierre-Luc Dubois aggravated Islanders with physical play

By Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch – December 3, 2018

The people in the front row weren’t amused.

Pierre-Luc Dubois had just scored to give the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead Saturday, almost halfway through the second period at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum, and he glided over with his arms wide and a smug grin on his face.

The Blue Jackets’ man-child center, 20, reveled in the heckles.

Standing on the other side of the glass was a big dude in a blue New York Islanders sweartshirt, with a buzz cut and bulging eyes that made it seem like somebody had insulted his dear, sweet grandmother. The meat hook on his left wrist had its thumb pointed straight to the floor.

Another guy pounded the glass and hurled insults. A third, wearing a knit cap and gray Islanders shirt, emptied his box of perfectly good popcorn in Dubois’ direction — scattering yellow kernels, and raw emotions, onto the floor with a knee-jerk act of sports defiance.

And those were just the guys watching the game.

The ones playing it, for New York, wanted to throw something else at Dubois. Haymakers, to be specific, after his open-ice hit on Tom Kuhnhackl a minute into the game.

It was called a tripping penalty and put the Blue Jackets down a skater almost immediately, but that wasn’t enough for the Islanders. They went out of their way to mess with Dubois the rest of the game, but he never really took the bait.

“It seemed like (after) the first shift, when I hit the guy, a guy would come hit me and bounce off and then get mad,” said Dubois, speaking in a hushed voice after the Jackets’ 3-2 loss. “I just play hockey. I don’t even look to (tick) people off.”

It’s just that his brand of hockey tends to upset opponents.

Dubois plays a grinding, hard-nosed style that combines strength, size, speed and skill into an oversized matchup nightmare. It happened again Saturday and Dubois got another impromptu lesson in handling the reverb.

“Before, it was me trying to get under guys’ skin and now, maybe, it’s just a couple of them trying to get under mine,” he said. “I play physical and I get on the forecheck, but I don’t go into any game trying to get under anybody’s skin. I just play the game.”

He’s still largely a kid, though, flying around in a grown man’s body, so there are times he does stuff that causes people to hurl their popcorn at him. He probably wouldn’t admit it, publicly, but you can tell he loves it.

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It’s just part of the show that now features him as a key player, but he also knows there are repercussions. Though he declined them all, Dubois said the Islanders invited him to fights, plural, Saturday night.

He had three of those during his career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, plus numerous gloved scrums in the NHL, but Dubois has yet to drop his gloves with the Blue Jackets.

There’s a reason why.

“Guys were trying to challenge me,” he said of the Islanders. “I mean, it’s hockey. I have a job to do and they have a job to do. I’ll try to help the team win and stay out of the penalty box, and sometimes maybe I’ll have to defend myself, but that’s kind of my judgment.”

It’s also part of a maturation process into what the Blue Jackets feel he can become. Injuring himself in a fight would only hamper that development, but that’s not to say he’ll never get into a scrap.

“I just want to help the team win and if it’s playing physical, it’s playing physical,” said Dubois, who has 13 goals, 12 assists and 25 points. “If it’s scoring goals, it’s scoring goals. If it’s playing defense, if it’s fighting ... I’ll do it, you know? But like I said, that’s just a judgment call for me.”

Eventually, the call will be to stand his ground. When it happens, make sure you’ve got your popcorn ready.

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Why John Tortorella has framed his lineup decision as Anthony Duclair vs. Oliver Bjorkstrand

By Aaron Portzline, The Athletic – December 3, 2018

COLUMBUS, Ohio — If Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella was angry with Anthony Duclair or Oliver Bjorkstrand, the thought process behind his most difficult lineup decision probably wouldn’t have been explained so publicly.

Sure, Anthony Duclair can check better. Absolutely, Oliver Bjorkstrand can play with more drive. If either of them was consistent in those areas, they’d probably be lineup regulars.

But Tortorella raised eyebrows last week by saying he was pitting Duclair and Bjorkstrand against each other in a battle for a spot on the third line with center Alexander Wennberg and left winger Brandon Dubinsky.

He wasn’t airing dirty laundry, he said. He was clearing the air to make sure everybody was on the same page.

“Sometimes when you make it public it’s a bad thing,” Tortorella said. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I don’t think Duke has played poorly, and I don’t think Bjorkstrand has played poorly enough to be sitting out forever.

“That’s why it’s a conversation with you guys (in the media). It’s not like I’m mad at the guy.”

Bjorkstrand will play Tuesday when the Blue Jackets host the Calgary Flames in Nationwide Arena.

Duclair, who is fourth on the club with eight goals, will take a morning skate with the other non-playing players, then watch Tuesday’s game either from the press box or dressing room.

As for Thursday at Philadelphia? That’s still up in the air, but Tuesday’s game and Wednesday’s practice will help make the decision.

“The way the lines have worked out, especially with the emergence of the fourth line, it kind of puts a focus on that situation,” Tortorella said. “The fourth line (Markus Hannikainen – Riley Nash – Lukas Sedlak) has changed the complexion of what I do.

“I have two offensive guys who have been (pause) OK. Not bad, (but) OK. So we’re going to keep on and see what happens there.”

Duclair and Bjorkstrand have been scratched plenty of times during the early years of their careers, but both said they’ve never had it framed — Duclair vs. Bjorkstrand — quite as bluntly as Tortorella has framed it.

“I haven’t heard of that,” Duclair said.

“I probably haven’t heard of that before, either,” Bjorkstrand said.

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Neither player was ready to make light of their situation, but neither seemed the least bit perturbed by it, either. If Tortorella was really angry with their play, they’d know it (loud and clear).

“There’s a lot of depth on this team,” Duclair said. “It’s up to you to show up every day and work hard, because your spot’s not guaranteed.

“I wish the best for Bjorky when he’s out there. I want what’s best for the team. This is the first time I’ve been on a winning team since juniors. It’s fun to win. So whatever it takes to win, whether I’m in or out of the lineup, I have to respect the coaches’ decision.”

Bjorkstrand is only 23 years old, but he’s been around enough to know that every NHL club is in a constant state of change.

“The competition for ice time is a healthy thing; that’s what pushes me and should make me better,” he said. “Right now, it’s me and Dukie fighting for a spot, but that can change.”

Tortorella has grumbled about both players’ definition of hard work. It’s not that Duclair or Bjorkstrand are afraid of hard work, he said, they just haven’t learned how necessary it is to survive in the NHL.

But, he said, if it takes this battle for playing time to motivate them, they probably aren’t going to make it.

“If I have to keep on giving them constant motivation … if one of those two is drawing on that, he’s going to end up being out,” Tortorella said. “You’re not going about your business the right way if you’re not self-motivated.

“I know Bjorky is self-motivated. It comes down to the definition of how hard to play. It’s the same thing with Duke. I’m still learning about Duke, but part of the scar on him was if he’s ready to play all the time. I’ve certainly seen that, not just from game to game but from within the game. I’m learning that with him.

“If there’s a problem with your self-motivation to keep yourself in the lineup, eventually you’re going to be out of the lineup and the other guy is going to take your job.”

Notebook

• The Athletic reported Sunday that defenseman Ryan Murray had suffered only a bone bruise when he was struck by a puck in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders. Still, it was a surprise to see Murray skating — with no difficulty — Monday when the Blue Jackets returned to practice. He’ll play Tuesday.

• Murray said he knew when he’d left Nassau Coliseum on Saturday that there were no bone breaks after having an X-ray in the arena. He wore a walking boot as a protective measure.

• Former Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton Prout (2011-12 to ’16-17) will return to the Flames lineup for the first time since Oct. 6, the second game of the season. He has played four games with AHL Stockton on a conditioning assignment during that span, but has otherwise been a healthy scratch.

• The hallway outside the Flames dressing room was packed with fathers Monday. Calgary is taking its annual fathers trip through Chicago and Columbus. The plan was to spend the afternoon at Topgolf near Polaris, then have a team dinner at Jeff Ruby’s downtown. Pretty good day, really.

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• The Blue Jackets have won three consecutive, four out of five and seven out of nine against the Flames. All-time, Columbus is 32-19-6.

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Flames 9, Blue Jackets 6 | Jackets' lead dissolves in wild second-period flurry

By Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch – December 4, 2018

These are the kind of games that try coaches’ souls.

In fact, games like this also try the souls of sportswriters, statisticians, broadcasters and goalies — who for different reasons get the occasional nightmare about evenings like the one the Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames unfurled Tuesday at Nationwide Arena.

It ended with the Flames winning 9-6, with the Blue Jackets looking a little dazed and confused by the whole thing — after two of the craziest periods the Jackets have strung together this season.

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“I can’t even think about what just happened,” said Cam Atkinson, whose sixth career NHL hat trick was almost lost in a blizzard of goals. “It was just weird, but the second and third period, we were terrible. First period, I thought we were great — great sticks, played hard, forechecked hard and then I don’t know what the hell happened, to be honest. That was crazy.”

What happened after the Jackets took a 4-1 lead on goals by Zach Werenski, Josh Anderson and Atkinson’s first two was part ugly, part beautiful and completely ridiculous.

Before the game, coach John Tortorella made an offhand comment that every game brings headaches to a coaching staff, no matter how much it might look like their team is on cruise control.

It turned out to be a prophetic statement, as things devolved quickly for the Blue Jackets (15-10-2) after Atkinson’s second goal 49 seconds into the second.

The Jackets went up 4-1 on that one, prompting a Calgary goalie switch from David Rittich to Mike Smith, but the Flames were heating up. They got one goal back 1:06 after Atkinson scored, when Sean Monahan capped a power play to cut the Jackets’ lead to 4-2, and then sent four more pucks past Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in a 12:37 span — surging to a 6-4 lead.

Elias Lindholm cut it to 4-3 at 2:46, Matthew Tkachuk capped another Calgary power play at 12:39 to tie it, Noah Hanifin scored at 13:29 to put the Flames up and T.J. Brodie made it 6-4 with a goal at 14:32 — the final three scored in a 1:53 span.

“They had 11 scoring chances, they scored nine goals,” Tortorella said. “And I fought all night long as far as, should I take (Bobrovsky out)? all night long, because you could see. But some of them were deflected and there was some crazy … it was just one of those nights. He didn’t look comfortable, but I just decided to see if he could play through it.”

Nick Foligno scored 28 seconds later to cut the Jackets' deficit to 6-5, but Calgary’s goals kept coming in the third. Bobrovsky allowed two more in the first 6:29 of the period, scored by Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau — who had two in the game after opening the scoring at 6:24 of the first.

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That put the Flames up 8-5 and prompted Tortorella to finally pull Bobrovsky in favor of Joonas Korpisalo. Atkinson, who extended his career-high point streak to 11 games, cut it to 8-6 with his third goal.

It pushed him past Rick Nash for the most in franchise history, but the cheers were short-lived. Austin Czarnik scored again for Calgary, the last of 15 combined goals in the game.

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Columbus Blue Jackets: Preview of tonight's game vs. Calgary

By Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch – December 4, 2018

What’s happening in Cleveland might be the best way to frame why Oliver Bjorkstrand and Anthony Duclair are now pitted against each other for playing time with the Blue Jackets.

The Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets’ affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL), have no shortage of forwards whose play could warrant a call-up, if needed – led by veteran Zac Dalpe, who’s already been recalled once and responded with an assist in his lone NHL game.

Dalpe is a 29-year old center who’s played 141 NHL games for five different teams over parts of nine seasons. He’s tied for third in the AHL in goal-scoring (13), is sixth in scoring (25 points) and was sent back to Cleveland on Nov. 16, a day after helping Columbus defeat the Florida Panthers when three Blue Jackets got sick.

That’s how competitive the organizational depth chart is up front for Columbus, which also has NHL veteran forwards Mark Letestu and Nathan Gerbe plus Sonny Milano and rookie Eric Robinson among top scorers in Cleveland.

Basically, the Blue Jackets are up to their shoulder pads in options for their third and fourth lines. The top two lines are all but settled, the fourth – featuring Lukas Sedlak, Riley Nash and Markus Hannikainen – is getting there and there’s only one spot up for grabs on the third line.

It’s at right wing, where Bjorkstrand will skate Tuesday against the Calgary Flames. Duclair played there prior to Bjorkstrand re-entering the lineup Thursday against the Minnesota Wild to end a string of being scratched in four straight games.

“We have a good team and there’s definitely competition for ice time, and for an organization that’s a healthy thing,” said Bjorkstrand, who has two goals and two assists in 21 games. “For me, obviously, it’s got to push me and it should make me play better.”

That seems to be the play for coach John Tortorella, who’d like to see one or both take advantage of their opportunity and take the decision out of his hands.

“It comes down to the definition of how hard you play, and it’s the same thing with Duke,” Tortorella said. “I’m still learning about Duke. Part of the scar on him is was, ‘Is he ready to play all the time?’ ... I’m learning about him with that, but if there’s a problem with self-motivation to keep yourself in the lineup, eventually you’re going to be out of the lineup and the other guy’s going to take your job.”

THE MATCHUP

The Blue Jackets (15-9-2) are second in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Washington Capitals, and lost Saturday at the New York Islanders, 3-2, in their last game.

The Flames (16-9-2) are first in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Anaheim Ducks, and won Sunday at the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, to start their two-game Father’s road trip.

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Columbus didn’t hold a morning skate, but the Blue Jackets are expected to start Sergei Bobrovsky (10- 8-0), who has a 2.72 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 18 appearances. Calgary held an optional morning skate and will start David Rittich (8-2-1), who has a 2.21 GAA and .924 save percentage in 13 appearances.

Since dropping three of four games between Nov. 7-15, the Flames are 6-1-1 in their past eight and haven’t lost in regulation since Nov. 23 at the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Blue Jackets are 3-3-0 in the past six games, since running off seven straight games with at least a point (5-0-2) Nov. 4-17.

INJURY FRONT

Calgary

Forward Michael Frolik (lower body) and defenseman Michael Stone (blood clot) are out for the Flames.

Columbus

The Blue Jackets nearly lost defenseman Ryan Murray after he blocked a hard shot with his left skate in the third period Saturday against New York. Murray left with about 12 minutes left and didn’t return. He had X-rays taken at the NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum, which showed no fractured bones.

WHO’S STREAKIN’?

Calgary

Johnny Gaudreau, who co-leads the Flames with 31 points, has two goals and three assists in a four- game point streak. He has points in seven of the past eight games, compiling four goals, eight assists and 12 points.

Columbus

Cam Atkinson is still rolling along with a career-high point streak that’s 10 games long. Atkinson, who co- leads the Blue Jackets with 27 points, has 10 goals, six assists and 16 points during the streak.

WHO’S BUNDLED UP?

Calgary

James Neal had 25 goals last season for the expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights, but hasn’t scored one since Nov. 1 for the Flames. He hasn’t scored a goal in 13 straight games and has three points (one goal, two assists) in Calgary’s past 16 contests.

Columbus

Alexander Wennberg hasn’t scored a goal since Nov. 10 against the New York Rangers, a span of nine games. He’s added five assists in that span, but also has a minus-4 plus/minus rating.

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G27: Sergei Bobrovsky doesn’t get hook until late in Blue Jackets’ ugly 9-6 loss to Calgary

By Aaron Portzline, The Athletic – December 4, 2018

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky didn’t want to second-guess coach John Tortorella. But it was impossible to watch Tuesday’s game vs. Calgary — truly the theater of the absurd — without wondering why the franchise goaltender was allowed to stay in the game so long and absorb such a beating.

Eight goals, 18 saves, 46 1/2 minutes. That was Bobrovsky’s rap sheet before Tortorella showed mercy at 6:29 of the third period, pulling Bobrovsky in favor of Joonas Korpisalo.

The Blue Jackets lost 9-6, setting a franchise record for the highest-scoring game (15 goals) and the most goals allowed in a game in Nationwide Arena.

Those are records that could stand for years, and it’ll likely come as a surprise to see Bobrovsky’s name next to the deed. After all, he’s a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and one of the league’s best players. Coaches usually go out of the way to spare them any embarrassment.

What was Tortorella thinking?

“I wanted to give him an opportunity to try to get his game back and find his way,” Tortorella said. “Whether it’s the right call, whether it’s the wrong call, it was my thinking.

“We had … the coaches and I had discussions from the fourth goal on as far as takin’ him. I decided to see if he could work through it. Remember, he’s been pretty damn good for us. I wanted to see if he could work through it. Didn’t happen.”

It’s the second time this season Bobrovsky has been allowed to stay in a game and absorb eight goals. The Jackets lost 8-2 in Tampa on Oct. 13, but that fell apart late with a four-goal third period.

The Blue Jackets surrendered five goals in the second period on Thursday — two only 51 seconds apart early in the second, and three only 1:53 apart near the middle of the period.

Now seems a good time to point out that one of the great hockey blow-ups of all time occurred on Dec. 2, 1995, when Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy was left in too long (in his mind, certainly) in an ugly loss to Detroit.

When Roy was finally pulled midway through the third, he stormed off the ice and vowed to Canadiens brass that he’d played his last game for the storied franchise. He was traded to the Colorado Avalanche the following day.

Bobrovsky is not wired nearly as tightly as Roy.

“It’s not under my control,” Bobrovsky said, when asked if he would have appreciated an earlier hook. “It is what it is. As long as I’m in there, I try to do my best to help this team.

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“I don’t want to analyze the coach’s job. It’s not (in) my thinking. I just have to be better. I don’t have to allow these conversations, you know. It’s the second game (with) eight goals I let in. I just have to be better.”

The Flames pulled starter David Rittich after a first period in which he gave up three goals on 14 shots. His replacement, Mike Smith, stopped only 13 of 16 the rest of the way, but it was enough.

Tortorella said he views every game differently when it comes to pulling the goalie. Tuesday was tricky, he said.

“Sometimes it’s not just the player, it’s some of the circumstances around him,” Tortorella said. “On the fifth one (at 12:39 of the second) … I thought Bob looked really funny on that one, but it hit (Ryan Murray’s) skate. It deflected in off Murr’s skate.

“I was going to take him then, but I wanted to stay with him and see if he could find his game. He didn’t.”

Tortorella noted that many of the goals were redirected, deflected or otherwise altered in a way that took Bobrovsky partially off the hook.

He also said he thought the Blue Jackets, even down 8-6 midway through the third period, had the look of a team that could win 9-8 or 10-9.

“They score the ninth goal and I think that took the wind out of our sails,” Tortorella said, then chuckling at what he had just said. “Imagine me saying that, huh?”

It was that kind of game, though. The Flames’ ninth goal did feel like a game-breaker.

Lucky for Bobrovsky he wasn’t in to absorb that one.

“It was just bounces all over,” Bobrovsky said. “They miss the shot and it (still) goes in. It’s not fun to be a part of it, but you have to forget and move on.”

Notebook

• As noted, this was the highest-scoring game in Blue Jackets history: 15 goals. The previous record was 13, which has happened three times, all on the road (March 9, 2001 vs. Florida, 7-6 win; Jan. 13, 2003 vs. Edmonton, 8-5 loss; Jan. 22, 2017 vs. Ottawa, 7-6 overtime win). The previous home record was 12 goals (Nov. 12, 2016 vs. St. Louis, 8-4 win).

• Also as noted, this was tied for the second-most goals ever allowed in a game by the Blue Jackets and tied for the most goals allowed at home. The Jackets allowed 10 on March 30, 2002, at San Jose, a 10-2 loss. They allowed nine two previous times: at Philadelphia on Nov. 5, 2011, and vs. Detroit on Nov. 11, 2009.

• The five goals allowed in the second period is one short of a franchise mark for the Jackets. They gave up six in a 7-3 loss in Nashville on Dec. 17, 2005. This marks the fourth time Columbus has allowed five goals in a period at home.

• Cam Atkinson had his sixth career hat trick, the most in franchise history. Rick Nash had five. Atkinson scored at 19:42 of the first, :49 of the second and 8:13 of the third. His third goal was a deflection, and it

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• Atkinson, appropriately, wasn’t too excited about his hat trick after the game. “It’s always fun to score goals. But this game … I think we just blacked out in the second period.”

• Tortorella has coached over 1,202 NHL games and hundreds more in the minor leagues. “I’ve never been in a game like this one,” he said on Tuesday. “I’ve coached a lot of games, never in a game like this. Eleven scoring chances, nine goals.”

• Only two other goaltenders have allowed eight goals in a game this season: Philadelphia’s Brian Elliott and Detroit’s Jonathan Bernier, both in the first week of the season.

• Murray had two assists and a plus-3 rating on a night when his club gave up nine goals. That’s living right. Artemi Panarin had two assists and a minus-3 rating.

• Zach Werenski’s first-period goal — man, that seems like a long time ago — was his 100th career point in the NHL.

• From the “Momma Said There’d Be Days Like This” department: Pierre-Luc Dubois played 17 minutes, had no shots on goal and won 4 of 16 faceoffs.

• Tortorella rarely addresses his club immediately after a game, but he did on Tuesday. “I’ve already talked to the team. I told them to answer your questions. Everybody stand up front, get in front of it, answer the questions. And we come back to work (Wednesday) at noon. We move right by it and get back to work … start getting ready for Philly.”

Analytically Speaking

The Athletic’s hockey data dynamo Alison Lukan provided these insights into the Blue Jackets’ loss:

• “We didn’t stop playing,” Tortorella said post-game. And that’s seemingly true. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, at five-on-five, the Jackets ended the game with 55.13 percent of shot attempts, 57.14 percent of scoring chances, and 56.25 percent of high-danger attempts.

• But overall, the Flames won out on total shot quality. Their expected goal total of 4.23 beat the Jackets’ expected goal total of 2.61. Add in four goaltenders who each missed their expected save percentage by double digits: Korpisalo — a big victim of sample size here — was minus-36.2, Bobrovsky was minus-15.3. David Rittich was minus-10.3 and Mike Smith was minus-10.9. That equates to 4.70 goals against for the Jackets and 3.18 goals against for the Flames, so you can see how this game became what it was.

• Who among the Jackets were driving chances and high-danger attempts? In terms of scoring chances for, the leaders were Seth Jones (11) and Zach Werenski (10). Jones and Foligno both helped the group generate a team-leading five high-danger attempts when they were on the ice. But the risk ran the other way for Jones Tuesday night. While he came out a plus-3 on scoring chances, he also allowed eight, the second highest on the team. The Jackets allowed a team-high 10 scoring chances against with Panarin on the ice (minus-3 overall).

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• No, there’s no automatic tracking of odd-man rushes. It must be done manually. When we have that data, we’ll share it. The Jackets were credited with 10 giveaways on the night, the Flames with five.

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‘It’s a no-hit league’: The story behind the slow death of the NHL’s ‘suicide’ pass

By Tom Reed, The Athletic – December 4, 2018

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner made a Nov. 19 neutral-zone pass that, if attempted a few seasons earlier, might have produced a Tyler Ennis chalk outline. Instead, it supplied a snapshot of the modern NHL game.

The play occurred in the second period of a contest against the Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Gardiner’s 25-foot pass was slightly behind Ennis at the attacking blue line, forcing the diminutive forward to reach back with his stick for the puck.

Ennis seemed to have no clue Blue Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara was in the vicinity and had the Toronto winger at his mercy.

“A couple years ago, that’s probably a collision, 100 percent,” Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said recalling the play. “And if it’s not, (Nutivaara) is probably hearing, ‘You got to hit that guy,’ from the bench.”

The Finnish defenseman made no effort to level the vulnerable Ennis, opting instead to steal the puck off his stick and transition it quickly to Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who drove the net and registered a shot on goal.

“There’s still a few guys in the league that make that hit,” Foligno said. “It’s a skill now that’s not being developed because it’s not as much a part of the game. Guys don’t know how to make that (open-ice) hit that are coming up in the league anymore. That’s not a knock on them, it’s just the reality. They are taught to use sticks, sticks, sticks. And, I have to admit, a stick is way more effective than a big bodycheck sometimes. Nuti made the right play.”

Hockey remains a physical, sometimes violent game. The league’s department of player safety is still doing a brisk business. The massive open-ice hits, however, are not nearly as prevalent, especially the ones coming as a result of passes that put teammates in the path of danger.

The game is faster. The neutral zone is safer. The red line is gone — and so are many of hockey’s most feared body snatchers like Scott Stevens, Denis Potvin and Darius Kasparaitis. It’s all helped contribute to the slow death of the term “suicide pass.”

“It’s a no-hit league,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “That’s an easy question to me. There isn’t a lot of worry (for forwards receiving passes).

“I’ll go a step further. It’s gotten so soft in that area — not just in the middle (of the ice) but in the game itself — that I don’t think there’s enough onus on the player with the puck or the guy that’s going to get hit to protect himself when there is a hit.”

The Athletic spoke to eight current and former players about the vanishing open-ice hits that come from head-man passes — the kind that used to fill Don Cherry’s “Rock’em Sock’em Hockey” videos.

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They pointed to a confluence of circumstances that have reduced collisions even at a time when stretch passes routinely lead forwards into the middle of the ice, an area once considered the most dangerous. Those interviewed for this story said:

There are fewer players willing to make such hits.

There are so many fast skaters that opponents are afraid to step up for fear of missing a check and surrendering an odd-man rush or breakaway.

There is such an emphasis on player safety that defenders worry about suspensions and their long-term health.

There isn’t the demand for big-time hitters in a sport that focuses so much nowadays on puck possession and transitional play.

“There’s very little that’s the same,” said TSN analyst and former NHL forward Ray Ferraro. “If you are talking about the suicide pass, the game was more compacted with the red line. Sometimes, there was nowhere to go. Now, you can stretch the other team out where the defense has to back up so they can’t stay up to make that hit that we all saw Scott Stevens among others make so frequently.”

Former tough guy Jody Shelley pondered a question Monday afternoon and tried to put the reporter asking it inside the locker room before the opening faceoff.

“When we were getting ready to go on the ice, guys would say, ‘Heads up on No. 22, heads up on No. 17, heads up on No. 5,” said Shelley, an analyst for Fox Sports Ohio, who played in the league from 2000-2013. “I don’t know if that still goes on or not.”

Tortorella, who coached Shelley with the Rangers, was asked about his former player’s response.

“I know Jody,” Tortorella said. “He’d get the sheet and he’d look at the (opponents) and say, ‘I might have to fight that guy. I got to watch out for that guy.’ (Are) You kidding me? Now? No. It’s not there — it’s not even close.”

Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky, who’s made a living with his confrontational style, said the danger of getting clobbered on a stretch pass has diminished, but it’s not completely gone. Dubinsky acknowledged there are times when he will let a dangerous pass go by his stick because he knows a defender is in the area and he’s at risk of getting crushed.

Dubinsky and Ferraro agreed players must be aware of their surroundings and know what opponents are on the ice. Nobody wants to be in the cross hairs of a Dion Phaneuf, Cal Clutterbuck, Brooks Orpik or Radko Gudas.

But the overall mentality of the game, Dubinsky said, has changed. Others agree. A year ago, Red Wings assistant coach Dan Bylsma called pregame warmups “happy hour,” and Tortorella bemoaned all the on- ice fraternization among opponents between the whistles.

“Guys used to want to hurt each other,” Dubinsky said. “I don’t think guys want to hurt each other anymore. And again, there’s that underlying fear of suspension.”

Niklas Kronwall stood inside the Red Wings locker room last week and smiled as he discussed the memories of the NHL game played in his youth.

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The Detroit defenseman entered the league in 2003 and quickly established himself as one of hockey’s heaviest hitters. At age 37, he’s a lion in winter trying to keep pace in a game that’s never been faster.

“I’m not as agile as I used to be, and when you’re not as agile, you might see some opportunities but you can’t get there as fast as you could back in the day,” Kronwall said.

“Look at how skilled these young guys are now. They are coming up the middle so fast that it’s hard to line them up. If you try to hit them in open ice, they are just going to sidestep you and go on their way for breakaway or odd-man rush. Since the last lockout in (the 2012-13 season), it’s become more about gapping up.”

Multiple players said the speed of youngsters such as Connor McDavid might be the biggest deterrent to opponents mulling a blowup hit.

“When guys are going that fast and you are receiving them going up the middle … it’s a lot harder to control that kind of contact,” Maple Leafs center John Tavares said. “With the rules and the suspensions and the protection with head injuries, it’s changed the physicality of the game. I think the game is still physical, but it is different. … You see the hits along the boards and physical play around the net.”

Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray, 25, grew up in Saskatchewan and recalled the eagerness of players in youth hockey to deliver statements with huge hits.

He can’t imagine trying to replicate that style of play in today’s NHL.

“McDavid is probably the bravest player in the league,” Murray said. “He just goes straight ahead, straight through guys coming at him. It’s honestly scary watching him play because he’s so fast. He sees everybody and just goes around them. It’s the way the game is going. If guys can see you, they are going to go right by you.”

Murray also believes medical evidence is having an impact on his sport and the hitting involved. Within the past decade, the public and players are starting to understand the connection between concussions and brain damage. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) can lead to memory loss, depression and dementia.

“Head injuries aren’t worth it,” Murray said. “For guys to go through their lives with possible long-term symptoms from head injuries and sub-concussive hits, I don’t think it’s worth it.”

‘I want puck control’

The Blue Jackets possess one of the league’s best young defensive corps. They also are a prime example of the shifting emphasis in the game.

As currently constructed, the club’s top four defensemen are good puck movers who skate well and are at their best breaking up plays with stick checks and sound positioning. Even the club’s most rugged defenseman, David Savard, does most of his hitting around the net and along the wall.

“You could blow somebody up, but there’s a high chance you’re not going to and it’s going to be a two- on-one or whatever the case is,” said Jones, a two-time All-Star. “You don’t see the weak side D coming over the middle anymore like the way Stevens used to do or (Rob) Blake used to do.

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“You ask a lot of defensemen now … I know I’m going for the puck. I want puck control. I want to go play offense again. Even in the (defensive) zone, if I have a chance to poke it or lift a guy’s stick, I’m going to do that rather than take myself and him out of the play.”

Zach Werenski, who works alongside Jones, plays a similar game. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, the two defenders have combined for 62 goals split evenly between them. Nutivaara and Murray aren’t as prolific, but their advanced metrics show a tandem that also drives offense.

And while their coach occasionally sounds like someone who wants to drag the game back 30 years, Tortorella is a progressive thinker. He demands his defensemen “go north” with the puck and jump into rushes. You can’t do that spending your shifts hunting blowup hits.

In other words, Tortorella appreciates plays like the one Nutivaara made in Toronto — breaking up an attack and igniting a counter in a split second.

“It’s a new game,” Foligno said. “Why risk taking a penalty there if you are skilled enough to steal the puck off somebody’s stick?”

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MONSTERS’ LETESTU EXCITED FOR NEW CHALLENGE

By Jeff Elston, AHL on the Beat – December 4, 2018

It’s been an atypical season for Mark Letestu in 2018-19, returning to a league in which he hasn’t competed for almost a decade. But it is a challenge that Letestu has accepted.

Through 18 appearances for the Cleveland Monsters this year, Letestu, a veteran of nearly 600 career NHL games, has posted eight goals and 13 points and has provided the veteran stability that the team has needed.

Letestu is coming off a campaign in which the Elk Point, Alberta, native appeared in 80 games between the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets, posting 23 points. In the off-season, Letestu returned to the Blue Jackets organization following a training-camp tryout stint with the Florida Panthers, signing a one-year, two-way deal with Columbus before joining Cleveland prior to the start of the regular season.

Letestu says his return to the AHL has felt slightly different than his previous stint in the league, way back in the 2009-10 season.

“The age in the room more than anything and relating to your teammates is what is a little different,” explained Letestu. “It’s been nine years since I have been here [in the AHL], but I am still enjoying it.”

Despite those differences, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound veteran center’s competitive nature and willingness to lead hasn’t changed.

“I like playing and competing and that’s why I am here,” added Letestu. “With that being said, when you’re the elder statesman in the room, any chance you have to lend knowledge or experience to guys and help them along in their careers… I get excited about that now.”

Monsters head coach John Madden has taken quick notice as to how important Letestu has been to his team not just in the locker room, but on the ice as well.

“[He brings] experience,” explained Madden. “He’s so crafty, so smart. He just does so many good things on the ice that most people might not notice. He’s not going to fly round the ice like a [rookie forward Eric] Robinson, [center Ryan] MacInnis, or [top Cleveland scorer Zac] Dalpe, but he makes the subtle plays that are very hard to teach. Every time we have needed him, he has stepped up.”

Cleveland captain Nathan Gerbe knows how fortunate he and the rest of his teammates are in having an experienced NHL player like Letestu roaming the locker room.

“His resume speaks for itself,” said Gerbe. “He’s been a leader on all of the different teams he’s played for, so he is a guy we can all learn from and seek help [from] when younger players need it. He’s just someone who does the daily things the right way.”

Letestu’s intangible leadership contributions have been evident so far this season, and even though he’s been happy with the way the team has produced offensively to this point in the 2018-19 campaign, he

23 knows that if the Monsters want to sustain their success on the ice, the team will have to improve defensively going forward.

“We’re not defending well enough right now,” outlined Letestu. “I think if you look up and down our roster you will see that we are going to score a lot of goals. I think our offense is going to carry us a lot of the time, but right now we’re just not defending well enough in games to let the offense take over. As a group we have to be better if we want to win more hockey games.”

Letestu and the rest of his Monsters teammates will get their chance to do just that this week when the team hits the road for a trio of games against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

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NHL could announce October 2021 start date for new Seattle team as early as Tuesday

By Geoff Baker ,Seattle Times – December 3, 2018

SEA ISLAND, Ga. — The National Hockey League could announce Tuesday that Seattle’s expected new expansion team will open in October 2021, instead of a year sooner.

NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke said on Monday afternoon that delaying the new team’s launch by 12 months is being discussed by team governors as an option ahead of their Tuesday morning expansion vote. Leiweke said he isn’t sure whether the governors would want further consultation with Seattle’s group before the vote but is prepared for any date scenario that emerges.

“We’ve been going back and forth on this,’’ Leiweke said. “There have been ongoing discussions about this. It was the last remaining open issue and it’s something we’re comfortable with either way.’’

Asked about the start date Monday, after the two-day governor meetings opened here at The Cloisters hotel, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman — who’d previously said the league would likely wait into next year before making a call on the date — didn’t rule out a final decision happening Tuesday.

“I think what I said was … it could be as late as next year to do that,’’ Bettman said. “And then again, it may not. So, you’re all going to have to come back tomorrow to find out the answer to that question.’’

On Oct. 2, after a positive Seattle expansion recommendation by the league’s executive committee, Bettman said the NHL would closely monitor the KeyArena situation to make sure the renovation timeline was proceeding on schedule.

“I think everybody agrees sooner is better,” Bettman said then of having Seattle open play in 2020. “But we have to and they have to get comfortable with the timeline as to what’s realistic. Obviously, it would be unfortunate in the extreme if we decided to go at one time and the building wasn’t ready.’’

But in the two months since that statement was made, deputy commissioner Bill Daly in multiple interviews has strongly hinted the NHL favors a later start date. Talk throughout the hotel corridors here, as governors from the 31 NHL teams arrived for the meetings, was that league sentiment was in favor of a 2021 start date being announced here.

One of the advantages of a later start would be the virtual guarantee KeyArena would be fully renovated and open on time for the new team to play its first game at home instead of on the road.

A launch in October 2021 would also allow the team’s practice facility at Northgate Mall more time to be planned, built and opened for when the team starts play. The new team could also host its own expansion draft at KeyArena, the way the Vegas Golden Knights did in their home facility.

Having a firm date in place would enable the new team to also start selling season tickets in January without fans having to guess which year they’ll actually get to start seeing games played.

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And a 2021 start would provide security for the team and league in the event NHL players decide next year to terminate their collective-bargaining agreement with the league two years early in September 2020.

That would raise the potential for a work stoppage just as an October 2020 launch of Seattle’s team was about to occur. Putting the launch off by a year eliminates that threat.

The downside is that delaying the franchise’s start by a year risks dulling some of the momentum that has been building within the Seattle marketplace. There are also potential hockey-personnel hires — such as former Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville — on the open market right now that might not want to wait nearly three more years before the new team takes the ice.

Leiweke and the Seattle ownership group arrived here Monday afternoon to prepare for the Tuesday- morning announcement. Majority owners David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer arrived separately, as did minority shareholders David Wright and Adrian Hanauer.

Wright and Leiweke spent the weekend in Montreal together attending a pair of Canadiens home games as guests of owner Geoff Molson in his Bell Centre private box. They arrived later than expected Monday due to severe thunderstorms throughout the area, but feeling upbeat.

Leiweke and his brother, Tim, who is spearheading the KeyArena renovation through his Oak View Group, have spent the past year feverishly working to overcome political and financial hurdles in order to set the stage for Tuesday morning’s expansion vote.

And regardless of which start date gets chosen, Leiweke said he’s as excited as ever about bringing the NHL to Seattle.

“I’m so excited for the community because it ends their arena saga,’’ Leiweke said. “And then, I’m excited for the fans because they will get to see the great game of hockey being played in their city. The thought that we’re going to get to see the Montreal Canadiens play a game in Seattle at some point in the near future is something I just get goose bumps thinking about.’’

The board of governors begins meeting Tuesday morning at 8:30 local time here. The Seattle group has a special “green room” conference room set up for it to wait in starting about 9:30 and could be called in to answer questions from governors within about an hour of that.

By 11:30 — 8:30 a.m. PT — the governors’ meeting is to end and a news conference is scheduled for a half-hour after that.

One of those watching the governors hustle off to meetings Monday was Todd Humphrey, a former professional hockey player who is now an entrepreneur and the CEO of Seattle-based project management firm LiquidPlanner. The Toronto native, who has lived in Seattle the past 18 years and was a member of the city’s KeyArena advisory panel, feels the hockey demographics within the city have greatly changed the past decade or so.

“I think part of what’s happening is with companies like Amazon moving so many people in, you’ve got people from all over the country and Canada and other parts that are hockey fans and now show up to the city without a team”, said Humphrey, a lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs fan, admitting he’s felt the same void no longer having a hometown team.

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“So, the conversations I’ve been having are that people are not just excited about it, they are just anxious for us to get one. So, I think there are certainly more hockey fans than there were 10, 12 or 15 years ago. And I think that’s going to grow exponentially.’’

Humphrey recently joined the NHL Seattle technology-advisory board and was invited as Leiweke’s guest for the announcement.

Humphrey feels fans in Seattle are the kind that will appreciate hockey’s rugged, high-octane side.

“I think the fan base is a rabid fan base, if you look at the Seahawks and the Sounders as great examples,’’ Humphrey said. “So, I think the integration of economics, the population and the demographics and more importantly, just the fans are going to fall in love with this game.

“So, we’re more than ready and we’re going to more than support it.’’

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The Athletic / More slam-dunk than surprise, Seattle named NHL’s newest team

By Katie Strang, The Athletic – December 4, 2018

SEA ISLAND, Ga. — Tod Leiweke, approaching the gilded meeting room where the NHL’s Board of Governors convened on Tuesday, could hear through the closed door sounds of the video he had already heard at least a hundred times.

It was the same Jerry Bruckheimer-produced pitch that aired in front of the game’s power brokers back in October, as a cinematic overture of the Seattle ownership group’s desire to bring another team to the Pacific Northwest.

He took this as a good sign.

But to build up Tuesday’s announcement as a dramatic, white-knuckled moment would be misleading, considering it was practically treated as a foregone conclusion. In an effort to be diplomatic, those involved in the project demurred about discussing anything specific before Tuesday’s press conference, but the minority owners’ presence alone was anything but discrete.

Bruckheimer, the celebrated Hollywood filmmaker, could be seen toting around a digital camera, presumably to capture some of the day’s events. Leiweke was practically gliding through the marbled hallways of The Cloister (a property owned by L.A. Kings owner Phil Anschutz) slapping backs and accepting well wishes. David Wright, a minority owner whose family brought the Space Needle to Seattle, did little to obfuscate the fact he was holding onto a personalized NHL jersey, which he later gifted to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, garnished with his own Hockey Hall of Fame commemorative patch.

Even if it were not for the gathering of local Seattle TV crews, shooting footage of owner David Bonderman’s arrival, or Beverly Parson’s green-and-red Seattle Metropolitans scarf, it was pretty clear what was slated to be the primary item on the Board of Governors’ two-day agenda.

Seattle was getting an NHL team.

In both the proverbial and literal sense, the doors opened for Seattle. Leiweke said he went around the room – cordoned off to the ownership group until the vote, which was unanimous, took place – shaking the hand of each NHL governor, who wished them good luck. Finally, they were in as the NHL’s 32nd franchise.

When Bettman announced the news shortly after noon on Tuesday in a news conference that was streamed live, there was a round of polite applause, delayed a half-second, perhaps, by the reminder that, though this has been seen as a slam-dunk for months (strong ownership, state-of-the-art arena in the works, a large, dynamic workforce to fuel ticket sales, plenty of deep-pocketed corporations locally, etc), there were fans gathered on the opposite coast who were eagerly awaiting the news.

“I know obviously that those words are words that the passionate and patient fans in Seattle have longed to hear,” Bettman said. “So today is a day for celebration in a great city that adores and avidly supports its sports teams and for our 101-year-old sports league.”

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Bettman touted the expansion franchise, which came with a price tag of $650 million, as one that would bring the two conferences in line with 16 teams apiece, in addition to helping the NHL expand its “geographic equilibrium” and create a built-in rivalry between Seattle and Vancouver.

Since Seattle submitted its expansion application, back in February, the question was not so much “if” the city would be awarded a team but when. And while the Seattle group held onto some hope that there was a possibility of beginning their inaugural season in 2020, the league announced that the club would not play until the 2021-22 season.

Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly and Leiweke all cited construction of the arena as the primary reason for the timeline — Bettman called a 2020 opening “speculative at best, unlikely at worst” — though it is hard to discount how uncertainty over the labor landscape between the NHL and NHL Player’s Association factored into that decision as well.

The estimated cost of the arena renovation is now $800 million.

Regardless, the extended time frame allows the ownership group for a more deliberate approach to some of the logistical factors in building a franchise from the ground up, something that Leiweke said he has already been in discussions with front office folks from recent expansion franchise the Las Vegas Golden Knights about.

The team must iron out any arena kinks, including some technological considerations, flesh out its hockey operations staff and figure out a way to accommodate the 33,000 season ticket deposits they received (32,000 of which came within the first 24 hours of becoming available). Not to mention settle on a team name (Totems? Emeralds? Sasquatch?).

“It’s exciting and daunting and scary and all the things,” said Bruckheimer, who flew in for the unveiling in between shooting his current movie in production, Top Gun: Maverick. “You just want to do right for Seattle, and bring great players and hopefully pick a name where we won’t get too many people mad at us. That’s the daunting challenge that we have, but we know that Seattle has the greatest fans. We’re going to educate the ones that don’t understand hockey on what a wonderful sport it is. There’s a lot of fans that are already there. We’re very excited to be a part of that community.”

Bruckheimer, a rabid hockey fan who grew up in Detroit attending games with his father, got the hockey bug as a school-aged kid. Once Wayne Gretzky came to Los Angeles, he took skating lessons and started to play (“I get up and down the ice as slowly as possible, but I still get there”). Tuesday was part of a dream years in the making.

So, too, for Beverly Parsons, the niece of Frank and Lester Patrick, who founded the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and established the Seattle Metropolitans, who won the Stanley Cup in 1917. Parsons, who now works as a real estate agent in Bellevue, Wa., recalled how she used to skip over to her uncle Lester’s place, just a block away, and be regaled with stories from his hockey-playing days with the New York Rangers. She has long wondered whether hockey would ever return.

“I’ve wanted it for years and years and years, and always dreamed about it and it didn’t seem like we would ever,” Parsons said.

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Bonderman, the billionaire businessman who is also a minority owner of the Boston Celtics, said Seattle was the only city that could have prompted him to get involved. He went to school there and worked on the Space Needle in 1962. The place has a special place in his heart.

“I woke up today thinking about the fans,” said Leiweke, who will serve as team president. “What did they feel on March 1st when they put down deposits without knowing anything? No team name, an ownership group they didn’t know very well, a building plan that was back then somewhat defined but fairly vague. Today is a great day for the fans and we owe them so much. That’s why today happened.”

He said that the day represented a day of hope, promise and heaps of hard work, which will begin in earnest soon.

But first, a brief break to relish an event which, while not unexpected, was momentous nonetheless. Only to be surpassed when the puck is dropped in 2021.

“This weekend I’m going to do a couple of things,” he said. “I’m going to have a glass of wine, and I’m going to have a nap, and I’m going to start thinking more about what that night’s going to be like with all of those fans in the building.”

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The Athletic / LeBrun: With Seattle official, next step is to hire a GM — and try to replicate the early success Vegas had

By Pierre LeBrun, The Athletic – December 4, 2018

SEA ISLAND, Georgia — Seattle may very well deviate from its expansion cousin Vegas in one paramount decision: the timing of a GM hire.

When launching in the fall of 2020 was still the goal, the Seattle group had originally planned to follow the Vegas script and hire its GM about 15 months out from puck drop as the Golden Knights did with George McPhee.

But the decision over the past week to delay Seattle’s on-ice debut until the fall of 2021 could potentially change that strategy. Sources within the Seattle group confirmed Tuesday, after the team was officially voted in by the Board of Governors, that there has been talk about the advantages of hiring a GM two years out. So perhaps as early as this summer.

On the flip side, the group has also discussed the merits of waiting as long as possible if it means not missing out on a great candidate.

Of the two, I would think hiring a GM as soon as possible makes the most sense. For as much as McPhee and his front office had a decent window to get ready for the expansion draft and the team’s first season in Vegas, I guarantee if they had a six months head start at the very least it would have made things less stressful for them. Not that you would know from the tremendous success they had not only on the ice but with the off-ice roster maneuvering and planning.

So while it’s an accepted notion already that Seattle will have a harder time leveraging other NHL teams in this expansion process because of the lessons learned from the Vegas experience (more on that below), if I were the Seattle group I would try to counter-act that by giving its front office more lead time than Vegas had. And I have a feeling that’s what we’re going to see.

Good luck to that first GM in Seattle. Seriously, he will need it.

The overthinking that went on by some teams in trying to finesse their protected list around Vegas led to some rather dubious decisions and side trades. Which all worked to Vegas’ advantage.

You get the feeling this time around most teams won’t overplay their hand. Which make things more difficult on the Seattle GM to gain the same kind of leverage — and panic in some cases — that McPhee held over his counterparts.

“Having been through it one more time we’ll know a bit more about it and we’ll plan accordingly,’’ Rangers GM Jeff Gorton said. “Everybody did what they thought was right for themselves but I think it will be a bit harder (on Seattle) moving forward. There might be more of an approach to just take the guy. It’s just one guy.’’

“I think it’ll be something that’s thought of a bit differently,’’ added Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.

Veteran Predators GM David Poile wasn’t so sure.

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“It’s a case by case situation,’’ said Poile. “You have to now go back and look at all the contracts and figure out what we have coming up, it allows us time to plan and sign or not sign… but everybody is going to lose a really good asset.’’

The two-plus year lead-in to the June 2021 expansion draft is double the preparation time, which should help the 30 teams strategize better this time around (Vegas is exempt from this expansion draft).

“I think what’s important is that we know the rules well in advance now,’’ said Devils GM Ray Shero. “If you go back, it was a lot tighter time frame when we found out the rules before Vegas. So I think the Seattle GM will have a harder time, but who knows?’’

Daly for the millionth time confirmed the expansion draft rules will be exactly the same for Seattle as they were for Vegas. The deputy commissioner was satisfied with the integrity of the Vegas trades in and around the expansion draft, so the hope now is that the same will hold true with Seattle. But the league will keep a close eye on things.

GM candidates in Seattle

This is pure speculation on my part because Seattle hasn’t yet reached out officially to anybody. It was pretty busy trying to get voted in as a franchise first.

But now that that has happened, the GM search can begin.

Some names to consider, in my opinion:

Ken Holland: The veteran Red Wings GM signed a short-term extension in Detroit which means the timing could work out nicely. He’s a British Columbia native and he’s also the kind of experienced hockey man the NHL likes to see hired as the first GM of an expansion team. The league was supportive of McPhee getting the gig in Vegas. And he brings instant credibility with his Stanley Cup rings. He’s a proven winner with the experience and track record which would make him a rock star hire in Seattle.

Kelly McCrimmon: If you’re going to try to duplicate the tremendous success Vegas had, why not steal from that brain trust? The Golden Knights assistant GM was instrumental in helping McPhee navigate the expansion draft process. He’s also a former WHL executive who knows the Seattle market well. The lone drawback is that he’s never been an NHL GM himself and the Seattle decision-makers will key on experience in making their GM hire. Still, there may actually not be a single candidate more uniquely qualified than McCrimmon based on what he just lived in Vegas.

Michael Gillis/Laurence Gilman: Reunite the old Vancouver Canucks band down the highway in Seattle? Why not. Gilman, assistant GM in Toronto these days, has paid his dues and I believe is ready for a GM gig. The idea here on my part is seeing Gillis as the President of Hockey Operations in Seattle with his old sidekick Gilman as GM. I’m surprised to some degree that Gillis hasn’t re-surfaced since his firing in Vancouver. He was ahead of his time in many of the things implemented with the Canucks. He’s a forward thinker. So is Gilman. It’s a tandem Seattle should consider looking at. Gilman, as an added bonus, helped the NHL draw up the expansion draft rules for Vegas. So he knows it inside out.

Doug Armstrong: Perhaps it’s a reach to include the Blues GM since he just last year signed a long-term extension in St. Louis. But stranger things have happened. If Seattle felt strongly enough about reaching out to the Blues about him, what’s to stop them from at least asking? Armstrong has the kind of

32 experience and résumé that would check the boxes for Seattle, a GM that’s never been afraid to make bold moves even if they don’t always pan out. He’s not afraid to be aggressive. Given that building the Seattle roster appears to be looking like a more daunting task after teams learned from their mistakes in the Vegas process, a guy like Armstrong could be what’s called for. But that’s only if he’s even available. Right now he isn’t.

Bill Zito: The assistant GM of the Blue Jackets recently interviewed with the Flyers. This guy will make a terrific GM one day. The former play agent has an excellent blend of negotiating skills and expert CBA knowledge as well as player talent evaluation. The knock against him when it comes to the Seattle job would be the fact he hasn’t been an NHL GM.

Dave Nonis: The senior advisor for the Ducks recently interviewed for the Flyers GM job. He’s been a bit forgotten and kept a low profile in Anaheim but as a former Canucks GM he would have a keen understanding of the Seattle market. He also has that experience Seattle is looking for having been the GM in demanding markets in Vancouver and Toronto.

Ron Francis: The former Carolina Hurricanes GM has an obvious Hartford Whalers connection with former teammate Dave Tippett, now an executive with the Seattle organization.

There are other candidates that will pop to be sure. And don’t forget that Tippett will have some influence on that GM hire.

The NHL made official what we’ve been speculating for months — the Coyotes will be moving to the Central Division starting with the 2021-22 season with Seattle going into the Pacific.

The league had communication with the Coyotes for nearly a year about this, but according to sources Arizona owner Andrew Barroway had his reservations about the move on the eve of the Board of Governors. Too late by then. The train had left the station.

I asked Barroway for comment but he politely declined Monday night and didn’t respond to a text message Tuesday after it was made official.

Coyotes team president Ahron Cohen did put a positive spin on things in a statement released to media:

“We are happy to welcome Seattle as the NHL’s 32nd franchise as the NHL continues to grow the game of hockey throughout North America,” said Cohen. “We will work with the League to ensure a smooth transition into the Central Division in time for the 2021-22 season, and we appreciate the League’s willingness to assist with logistics and scheduling to make travel as easy as possible between our home in Phoenix and the other Central destinations.

“Our fans should take comfort in knowing they will continue to see us play our Pacific Division rivals multiple times a year — including squaring off with Vegas for desert bragging rights—while also getting to see new rivalries with some legacy franchises. Regardless of what division we are in, our goals remain the same: win on the ice against whomever they put in front of us on the schedule, build Coyotes fandom throughout the entire State of Arizona, and positively impact our Arizona community.”

I asked Daly about the cynical take some have had on Arizona moving to the Central Division, that it simply sets up nicely for a team re-location to Houston eventually. Which he obviously didn’t agree with at all.

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“I mean, I would say you’ve got to look at the other side of that which is, there was no other change that was more logical than moving Arizona like we did. One has nothing to do with the other,’’ Daly said.

I followed up by asking whether the league had any concerns with the future of the Coyotes.

“I don’t have any concerns,” said Daly.

It’s also worth noting that for those of us who dream of seeing the return of the Quebec Nordiques one day, commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday there are no current plans for further expansion. But that doesn’t mean there won’t ever be expansion. Just not at the moment.

One important agenda item for team executives is getting that salary cap projection for next season. It always comes out at this December Board of Governors meeting.

Bettman projected an $83-million figure Monday to governors, which obviously still depends on negotiating the escalator with the NHL Players’ Association in June.

The actual range is between $81 million to $85 million but the league figure around $83 million is what’s most likely, up from the current $79.5 million cap.

Every cent of cap space matters for contending, cap-squeezed teams like Tampa Bay, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Nashville.

“This affects every club as to what you can do and not do,’’ Poile said. “The next big thing it will play in is the trade deadline. So, are you getting rental which means there’s no salary going forward or someone who might have years or a long-term contract? It’s important to know what that number is.’’

“You still got to be somewhat careful because it’s a projection but one thing the league has done over the years is be able to see trends and different things like that,” said Cheveldayoff. “So I guess you feel a little more information so you start moving forward. But you have your own internal projections.’’

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After years of trying and a cast of characters in between, the NHL will finally put a team in Seattle

By Geoff Baker, Seattle Times – December 3, 2018

Five years ago this coming spring, I participated on a special Hockey Hangout media panel at The Angry Beaver sports bar in Greenwood, where we chatted with fans about the National Hockey League’s apparent interest in putting a team in this city.

It seems like an eternity has passed since, what with all the arena sagas and false starts aimed at fulfilling what has long been the NHL’s wish. But on Tuesday morning, hockey fans will again gather at a local watering hole and this time, the hypothetical will give way to reality.

An event titled “Decision Day for Seattle Expansion Team’’ will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. PT at Henry’s Tavern in South Lake Union, roughly timed with a meeting of the NHL board of governors in Sea Island, Ga., to discuss awarding our city the league’s 32nd franchise. Food and beverages will be paid for by the NHL Seattle group and Sports Radio KJR will host a two-hour show remotely from the venue in an event designed to build suspense ahead of an expected expansion announcement.

It will be much like your average football tailgating party, with one notable exception: We already know the outcome.

When the meeting in Georgia lets out somewhere between 8:30 and 9 a.m. PT, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will confirm the Seattle ownership group of David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer has a franchise to launch either in 2020 or 2021. So, the Henry’s Tavern event is more a postgame celebration than a pregame tailgate. And why not?

After what local sports fans have been put through to get a winter team, it won’t hurt to have the suspense curtailed. Once a deal between the City of Seattle and the Oak View Group to renovate KeyArena was confirmed a year ago this week, everything else became academic.

As far as the NHL was concerned, having waited this long to give us a team, this was a done deal the minute the city signed off this past fall on an environmental-impact statement and final transaction documents.

So, yeah, it’s time to celebrate.

Sure, this isn’t a return of the NBA SuperSonics just yet — and won’t be until that league awards similar expansion franchises or relocates a team. But we’re light years from where we were in early 2014, with winter sports on hold pending the ability to get an arena deal not only signed off on but paid for as well.

The staggering costs associated with the KeyArena deal and the team that will play there show why it took so long. The latest estimates of the KeyArena construction bill peg it at $750 million — all privately funded.

Throw in $650 million for the NHL team and $70 million for the practice facility planned at Northgate Mall and you’ll see why pretenders need not apply.

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Of course, that didn’t stop a number of applicants from stepping forward the past five years, some more capable than others.

One of the more memorable was Ray Bartoszek, the Connecticut investor and oil fracking expert who said in early 2015 he wanted to build an arena in Tukwila.

In mid-2013, Bartoszek had been the guy who was poised to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and move them to Seattle if the Glendale City Council didn’t vote to extend the team’s arena lease — which it did by a single vote.

Bartoszek sure had a knack for showing up places whenever the NHL needed local politicians and business types to get their arena act together. We had lunch in April 2014 near his Greenwich, Conn., home and he told me he was investigating KeyArena as a potential site but would later that summer dismiss the idea as impossible without demolishing its soon-to-be-historically-protected roof.

Little did Bartoszek know at the time he ruled it out, but the Seattle City Council that summer was only weeks away from giving the go-ahead to the AECOM firm to investigate future KeyArena uses. And AECOM was to surprisingly discover renovating KeyArena was indeed possible — something that led to the city exploring that venue as an NHL and NBA possibility.

So, Bartoszek’s timing wasn’t always impeccable. But when it came to pressuring politicians and other groups to jump-start arena plans, he couldn’t have been better placed had the NHL been paying him as a stalking-horse consultant all along.

The Tukwila project has been dead since Bartoszek abandoned it right around when Seattle Mayor Ed Murray was successfully forcing a council vote on Chris Hansen’s proposed arena project in the city’s Sodo District. The NHL needed the Sodo issue resolved once and for all because Hansen held rights over KeyArena through 2017 and his presence prevented the league from entering this market.

When the city council rejected Hansen’s proposal in May 2016, it helped clear the way for outside bidders to apply to renovate KeyArena for the NHL.

Meanwhile, Bartoszek moved on to his latest project proposal — a privately-financed $1 billion, 17,500- seat arena in Long Island, N.Y., that caused widespread speculation he wanted to lure the New York Islanders back from Brooklyn. Curiously, that proposal came around the same time the Islanders and Tim Leiweke’s OVG were trying to finalize a deal to build the team a new arena at the Belmont Park site in Nassau County — which they eventually did agree to do.

The status of Bartoszek’s arena plans on Long Island remains uncertain.

But once again, the timing of Bartoszek’s presence worked out perfectly to suit NHL interests. Say what you want about Bartoszek, but he has played a role — whether on purpose or unwittingly — in getting exactly what the league wanted in three hockey markets.

He’ll forever be a part of this city’s pre-NHL lore, as will Don Levin, Jac Sperling, Steve Ballmer, Victor Coleman and other would-be arena builders and owners. Again, some were more serious than others. But it took all of their varying levels of interest — Hansen’s as well — to get us here.

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At some point, somebody will write a really good book about it all. Maybe Seattle NHL team owner Bruckheimer can buy the movie rights and get it done on the big screen when he’s finished filming his Top Gun remake.

For now, sit back, hoist an early morning brew at Henry’s and celebrate what all of this jockeying has led to. At some point, professional sports can’t always be about arenas and politics. They require an actual team and games to be fun for the average fan.

On Tuesday morning, we’ll have the NHL team. And then, a whole new set of games can begin.

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The Athletic / Pronman: Ranking the 2020 NHL Draft prospects

By Corey Pronman, The Athletic – December 3, 2018

You can’t look at the Future of Hockey without talking about the draft. So as we dive into projections about the game this week at The Athletic, today I take a way, way too early glance at the 2020 NHL Draft.

My way, way too early assessment of this class: It looks about average. There are players at the top who can make an impact, but I don’t see a future superstar. I prefer the 2019 class and mildly prefer the 2018 class at this moment.

I’ve seen every player ranked live several times. I have not seen Hendrix Lapierre or Tim Stutzle live yet, and I’ve only seen Marco Rossi once, so they have not been profiled. Scouts have praised all three as potential top prospects for next season, though.

What follows is what I view as the top tier of this draft class.

Special prospect: Projects to be one of the very best at their position in the league.

Elite prospect: Projects to be top 10-15 percent of the league at their position.

High-end prospect: Projects as a legit top-line forward who can play on your PP1/top pairing defenseman.

Very good prospect/first-round pick: Projects as a top-six forward/top-four defenseman/starting goaltender.

Special Prospect

Alexis Lafreniere, LW, Rimouski-QMJHL

Lafreniere is very well known at this point. He’s dominated the QMJHL for the past few years and helped lead Canada to gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Lafreniere can be special with the puck on his stick. His pure puck skills and vision get very high grades, as both are arguably elite. He has shown throughout his time in the QMJHL and at various international tournaments that he can make plays like few others. I don’t think his skating is at the same top level. It’s fine/good but not high-end, and he could use a bit more pace in his game. Comparatively, I don’t see him at the same level as Rasmus Dahlin, but he’s close to Jack Hughes in terms of level of prospect.

Elite Prospect

Lucas Raymond, LW, Frolunda-SHL

Raymond really impressed me this season and has the best chance to unseat Lafreniere at the top of the draft, although I’d say the gap is quite significant as of now. Raymond’s hockey sense is off the charts. Ask any evaluator about Raymond, the most common description is “smooth.” He’s so calm and poised with the puck and doesn’t lack pace at the same time. He’s got a high skill level and elite vision. He

38 skates well, but maybe not exceptionally fast for a smaller guy, but he outthinks guys so well that he compensates for that.

Alexander Holtz, RW, Djurgarden-J20 SuperElit

Holtz has been a name on the prospect beat for years and continues to be considered one of the very best 2002 birth dates. Holtz can dominate a shift. He’s got a ton of skill, has great offensive instincts and has an elite shot. I’ve seen him pick corners and hit posts with consistency during a game. He skates well, his speed isn’t his calling card, but he’s got a lot of pace in his game.

Quinton Byfield, C, Sudbury-OHL

Byfield was picked first overall in the recent OHL draft and looks quite good in his first CHL season with Sudbury. The toolkit is fantastic and unique. He’s a huge center who skates very well and has a lot of skill. That gets any evaluator excited. I’m still debating how good his vision/instincts are, but I think both areas are at the least above-average. He has the potential to be a No. 1 center, which teams dream of getting.

High-End Prospect

Antonio Stranges, LW, London-OHL

Stranges can be a very entertaining player to watch and I’ve liked each time I’ve watched London this season. He’s a fantastic playmaker with the vision and skills to make tough offensive plays with consistency. He’s a unique skater as well who skates with a 10-2 stance and interestingly generates a lot of speed while doing so. He’s small and may not be a great all-around forward, but he creates offense like few others.

Jamie Drysdale, D, Erie-OHL

Drysdale is a dynamic puck-moving defenseman who has been very good this season between Erie and the U17 Challenge. His skating and skill level are high-end, allowing him to be great rushing the puck and activate off the blueline, but it’s his sense that is the most impressive to me. He sees the ice at a near elite level and is incredibly creative. He may not be the biggest defender, but his mobility and smarts compensate for a lot of that on the defensive side.

Noel Gunler, LW, Lulea-J20 SuperElit

Gunler has been great this season, lighting up the Swedish junior circuit and not looking out of place at the SHL level one and a half years before his name is called on draft day. He’s a highly skilled winger who can make plays and score. His hands are his most impressive offensive attribute, but he’s dangerous in multiple ways inside the offensive zone. His skating isn’t a weakness, but it’s nothing special. He does compete well, though, and has a bit of an edge.

Jean-Luc Foudy, C, Windsor-OHL

Foudy is the brother of Columbus first-round pick Liam Foudy. While Jean-Luc has his brother’s great speed, he is a more skilled version. He can play a fast-paced game with his speed, but he’s also able to make great plays through defenders and see the ice very well. He’s not the biggest guy and he won’t run guys, but I don’t mind his hustle. I think he has the potential to impact a game.

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Very Good Prospect/First-Round Pick

Dylan Holloway, LW, Okotoks-AJHL

Holloway is tearing up the AJHL currently as he’s trended way up in the past few years from not really on the radar to a legit top prospect. Holloway is a well-rounded forward. He’s a great skater, he competes hard at both ends, while also possessing a lot of skill. He may not be as dynamic as others in the top 10, but his ability to always make a play and impact a shift is tough to beat. Holloway is on track to play at the University of Wisconsin.

Jaromir Pytlik, C, Vitkovice-Czech Extraliga

Pytlik has one point in 26 games at the pro level in the Czech Republic this season, but I’ve watched him about 10 times at the U18 and U20 level this season and see a guy with a lot of talent. He’s 6-foot-2, has great hands and can be tough to handle down low when he has the puck. His speed doesn’t overwhelm you, but he’s gotten a lot quicker from where he was a year ago, vaulting his prospect status. His playmaking can be hit and miss, but he can find his teammates.

Justin Barron, D, Halifax-QMJHL

Barron looked quite good with Halifax the past two seasons and played a big role for Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He’s 6-foot-2 and a great skater, with the clean footwork and powerful stride to close on the quicker forwards and lead a rush. He’s skilled and creative with the puck, and can create offense. His decision-making worries me a tad. I’ve seen him make bad turnovers too regularly, but then he’ll follow it up with a brilliant play.

Connor McClennon, RW, Kootenay-WHL

McClennon is a tiny winger, but he has immense talent. Great speed? Check. High-end skill? Vision? Check, check. Ability to score? Got that, too. The former second-overall pick in his WHL draft was incredible at the U17 Challenge and looked elite on the power play. His diminutive 5-foot-8 frame will cause some alarm, but I think he has the potential to overcome his size and be a scorer in the NHL.

Jeremie Poirier, D, Saint John-QMJHL

A quick search of Poirier’s stats may not inspire confidence, but make no mistake he is a top prospect. Like with Pytlik, underage stats are not always reliable indicators and Saint John is very bad this season. Poirier has all the tools to succeed. He has high-end skill and vision, and skates well. He projects to be a power play quarterback for a team because of how creative he is with the puck and the unique plays he can make. He started off well in the Q as a 16-year-old, with some bumps lately, but at the U17 Challenge he showed why he’s one of the top defensemen in his age group.

Theo Rochette, C, Chicoutimi-QMJHL

I’ve seen Rochette this season at the Hlinka and U17 Challenge and been consistently impressed by him. He’s a high-end playmaker who sees the ice as well as nearly anyone in his age group and has a high skill level. His passing is his money making attribute, but he has a good shot, too. He’s small and not a blazing skater, but I think he has above-average speed and plays quick. Rochette has played for both Canada and Switzerland in International play and has yet to play in an IIHF event, so his eligibility is still open for both.

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Yaroslav Askarov, G, St. Petersburgh Varyagi-MHL

I’m sure longtime readers’ eyes are twitching seeing this ranking – “Excuse me, Corey, I believe you made a mistake. Askarov is a goalie.” I’ve seen Askarov about six times this season between two international events, and every time I’ve been blown away. His athleticism is high-end, he’s 6-foot-2 and his hockey sense is great. He has a polished technique, he can make the tough save consistently, he’s aggressive without getting out of position and he reads the play very well. He’s got everything he needs to succeed and, despite skepticism in ranking goalies, he’s gotten himself into the first-round pick argument.

Kaiden Guhle, D, Prince Albert-WHL

Guhle, the younger brother of Sabres prospect Brendan Guhle, was the first-overall pick in his WHL Bantam Draft. Kaiden is a ridiculously good skater for a big defenseman and looks unique when he’s leading a rush. He’s a smart puck-mover and a steady two-way defender but does lack a standout skill element to his game. I see him as a tough minutes defenseman who might be more of a second power play type.

Jake Sanderson, D, USNTDP-USHL

The son of longtime NHLer Geoff Sanderson is the top defenseman on the USNTDP. He’s not someone who immediately catches your attention, as his game is very quiet. He’s mobile, but he doesn’t have elite speed. He has skill, but he won’t dangle guys. Rather he’s calm and smooth, with great two-way hockey sense. I could see his ultimate upside come into question eventually, but for now I’ve liked what I’ve seen and think he could project as a solid second-pair type.

Tyler Kleven, D, USNTDP-USHL

Kleven’s rank is based on projection more so than what he’s done this season. His toolkit is fantastic. He’s a 6-foot-4 defenseman who is mobile, tough and has sneaky good skills. He hasn’t been a power play guy yet for the USNTDP because he’s got a lot of room to grow. Scouts I’ve talked to question his sense, and it’s looked no better than average to me, but in viewing him a couple of times it didn’t look like a glaring problem. I could see him dropping if he doesn’t develop over his two years at the USNTDP, but he has massive upside if he starts to hit.

Others to know (alphabetical order)

Blake Biondi, RW, Hermantown-US High School

Brock Faber, D, USNTDP-USHL

Sean Farrell, LW, USNTDP-USHL

Daniil Gushchin, LW, Muskegon-USHL

Helge Grans, D, Malmo-J20 SuperElit

Yan Kuznetsov, D, Sioux Falls-USHL

Hendrix Lapierre, C, Chicoutimi-QMJHL

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Anton Lundell, C, HIFK-Liiga

Ryan O’Rourke, D, Sault Ste. Marie-OHL

Vasili Ponomaryov, C, Moscow-MHL

Cole Perfetti, C, Saginaw-OHL

Dylan Peterson, RW, USNTDP-USHL

Ryder Rolston, RW, USNTDP-USHL

Marco Rossi, C, Ottawa-OHL

Kasper Simontaival, RW, Taapara-Liiga

Ty Smilanic, C, USNTDP-USHL

Tim Stutzle, LW, Mannheim- Germany U20

Oliver Suni, RW, Karpat-Jr. B Liiga

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The Athletic / DGB weekend power rankings: Crazy finish to the William Nylander saga, Tom Wilson and a new number one

By Sean McIndoe, The Athletic – December 3, 2018

Well, you have to give William Nylander and Kyle Dubas some credit. They know how to build to a dramatic finish.

The weekend’s biggest story came off the ice, as contract negotiations between the Maple Leafs and their talented young winger went down to the wire. With Saturday’s 5:00 p.m. ET deadline looming, we made it well into the afternoon without any kind of indication of where things were headed. As the timer ticked down and it became clear that there wouldn’t be a trade, it started to look like we could actually see the deadline come and go without any kind of deal in place.

And then, with just minutes to go, the word came down: They had a deal.

TOLD NYLANDER IS STAYING. DONE DEAL 6 YRS.

— DARREN DREGER (@DARRENDREGER) DECEMBER 1, 2018

The details, in case you missed them: Nylander gets a six-year deal that will pay him just under $42- million, and carries a cap hit north of $10-million for this season, before settling in at $6.9-million the rest of the way. He’s expected to play this week, either tomorrow in Buffalo or on Thursday against Detroit.

Let’s make a few observations here, starting with an obvious one: If this really went down the way it’s been described, and the two sides didn’t actually strike a deal until there were just minutes left before the deadline, that is insane. Like, it’s completely nuts.

Maybe we’re just seeing a little dramatic license come into play here. But according to reports, there was no deal until Nylander himself called Dubas just 30 minutes before the deadline, and the actual contract wasn’t signed until there were just eight minutes to spare. If that’s true, or even all that close, it means that what could turn out to be a career-defining decision for both the player and the GM came down to the same sort of last-minute scramble as your high-school history essays. It’s madness.

In the bigger picture, the deal seems to work well enough for both sides. Nylander ultimately got what he was looking for – maybe not the Leon Draisaitl money he was rumored to be using as a starting point, but something north of what David Pastrnak accepted a year ago. That comparison always rankled some fans, since Pastrnak is the better player. But in hindsight he signed for less than he deserved and that’s hardly Nylander’s fault. The young Leaf played hardball, even insisting that his deal contain enough bonuses to make him whole for the time he missed. And in the end, he got just about exactly what he wanted.

As for Dubas and the Leafs, they weren’t able to push Nylander down to the number they were hoping for, and if you insist on a narrative of either side blinking, then that’s the Maple Leafs. But in terms of the long-term cap hit – this year really doesn’t matter – Dubas kept the number under $7-million, if only barely.

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Is that too much? It might be. But it’s not, despite the way some are trying to spin it, the sort of deal that forces a GM to break up a team. The Leafs are probably paying Nylander about a half-million more a year than they’d like to. That’s not ideal and a hard cap means you need to squeeze value wherever you can. But it’s the sort of problem that eventually forces you into a move on your fourth line or bottom pair, not with your stars. The Leafs have said all along that they can keep their big four forwards and nothing that happened with Nylander should force them to change that approach.

James Mirtle breaks down the impact in more detail right here. But the big winner here is all of us, who can finally move on to another story. If you’re a Leafs fan, the Nylander drama was looming over everything that the team was doing on the ice. If you’re not, you’re probably wondering how a 60-point winger managed to take over the NHL’s news cycle. Either way, we’re done, and we can all move on to something more important. Like obsessing over contracts for Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews for most of the next year.

I’m kidding. Kind of.

In what can only be described as an inexcusable decision, the NHL still went ahead and played some actual games on the weekend, even as everyone in the hockey world was 100 percent focused on the Nylander drama. Some of those games even shifted our weekly power rankings around. We’ll get to that in a bit. But first, hey, speaking of Cap hits that might be too high …

Road to the Cup

The five teams that look like they’re headed towards a summer of keg stands and fountain pool parties.

Tom Wilson was at it again on the weekend. The Capitals winger, fresh off a 14-game suspension for throwing a dumb hit, figured it was time to get back to throwing dumb hits.

Wilson’s hit on Brett Seney resulted in a match penalty, but no further discipline. It wasn’t a hit to head, despite the call on the ice. But it was late and it was from behind on a vulnerable player. As far as suspensions go, it was borderline.

That put the Department of Player Safety in a tough spot. A player’s history comes into play for discipline decisions, but only in the “how many games” phase. In theory, at least, a player’s reputation has nothing to do with whether a hit is suspension-worthy or not. The DoPS basically had two choices: Decide that the hit didn’t rise to the level of a suspension and give Wilson nothing, or decide that it did and then, given his record, sit him down for a long time.

In the end, they decided to go with the former. It may have been the right call; had any player other than Wilson thrown the same hit, maybe most people just shrug it off. The hit wasn’t clean – you’re not allowed to skate through the back of a player who doesn’t have the puck, and never have been – but there’s still such a thing as bad hits that don’t merit suspensions. The DoPS felt that Wilson’s hit was one of them.

But even if the hit wasn’t worth another 20 games, it was dumb. It was unnecessary. Wilson wasn’t breaking up a play or creating a chance or doing anything to help his team. He just saw a guy he could paste and he couldn’t help himself. Or maybe he could – viewed generously, he seems to reconsider at the last second and try to bail on the hit, but it’s too late. Either way, Wilson isn’t even picking his spots. He took his massive suspension for a hit in a meaningless preseason game and now this. The problem is

44 that there just doesn’t seem to be an off switch. He just hits whoever he can, however he can and then apologizes later if he needs to.

It increasingly feels like this can only end one of two ways. Either very, very badly, with somebody getting seriously hurt and Wilson sitting out most of a season. Or with Wilson changing his game so radically that he’s not Tom Wilson anymore. The ideal situation – the one where he still gets to be the dominant physical force the Capitals paid $31-million for but doesn’t throw dumb hits that hurt his team and risk massive suspensions for no benefit – just doesn’t seem to be an option for this guy.

5. Washington Capitals (15-8-3, +12 true goals differential*) – In related news, the defending champs are back in the top five, despite yesterday’s collapse against the Ducks that snapped a seven-game win streak. And yes, Wilson is part of that, because when he’s in the lineup he helps them win.

You could say that the Capitals are running over everyone, but I’ve been assured that it’s more like they’re just gliding around innocently and everyone else keeps backing into them.

4. Colorado Avalanche (15-6-5, +25) – I’ve never fully bought into the Avalanche. I still don’t, if I’m being honest. But at some point the results have to count for more than the gut instinct or whatever else and the Avs are at that point. They haven’t lost in regulation since Nov. 9 and have passed the Jets and Wild in the Central, with the Predators in sight. They’ve earned a spot.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs (19-8-0, +28) – They had a 3-0 week, with wins against three good-to-great teams in the Bruins, Sharks and Wild. Auston Matthews is back. And soon, Nylander will be too. Even with some of those warning lights on the dashboard still glowing dimly, that’s a pretty good week. If you wanted to nudge the Maple Leafs up another spot or two, I’m not sure I could blame you.

2. Nashville Predators (18-8-1, +23) – The Predators just haven’t looked quite as scary since they had a five-game win streak snapped three weeks ago. They’ve won five of ten since, including victories against struggling teams like the Kings, Blues and Hawks. They also beat the Lightning in that stretch, so nobody’s panicking. But with the Avalanche closing in, it’s concerning enough to bump the Predators out of the top spot for the first time all season.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (19-7-1, +23) – The Lightning slide into the Predators top spot having won two straight, five of six and seven of nine. They’ve scored 27 goals over their last six, and haven’t missed Andrei Vasilevskiy all that much. Better yet, they still look like they could have another gear.

*Goals differential without counting shootout decisions like the NHL does for some reason.

Not ranked: Buffalo Sabres – And just like that, they’re gone. After one week in the top five, the Sabres drop out after seeing their ten-game win streak snapped by losses to the Lightning and Panthers. I’m sure that will go over well with the Sabres fans who were somehow mad about their team making the top five last week.

Still, this is hardly the time to worry about the Sabres. We pointed out that the win streak was mostly made up of one-goal wins, including seven that came after regulation. Well, the two losses were close ones too, so fair’s fair. Last week didn’t really tell us anything about the Sabres, other than that eventually the coin flips start landing on the other side. They’ll be fine.

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The question is whether they can be more than fine and establish themselves as true contenders. The jury’s still out on that question, but we’ll get some evidence over the next 48 hours. Buffalo faces the Predators tonight and the Maple Leafs tomorrow. That’s a chance to send an impressive message, especially against the rested Leafs in one of those matchups where the schedule makers didn’t exactly do the Sabres any favors. Figure out a way to pick up three or four points in those two games and you’re right back on track.

The bottom five

The five teams that look like they’re headed towards hoping the ping-pong balls deliver Jack Hughes.

In the running for best story of the weekend: The Islanders making their return to the a refurbished Nassau Coliseum. It was a moment that Islander fans were looking forward to since the schedule came out, and the team didn’t disappoint, rallying from down 2-0 to earn a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets. For a team that’s been low on highlights in recent years, this one night really was just about perfect.

5. Ottawa Senators (12-12-3, -11) – A three-win week was capped off by Saturday’s win over the Sharks in the big Erik Karlsson homecoming game. All eyes were on Karlsson, who was held off the scoreboard. But it was a former Shark, Mikkel Boedker, who racked up four points to lead the way. The win moved the Senators back up to .500 on the year, as a team that nobody seems to think is very good, continues to find ways to win.

They can put together a pretty decent welcome back video too:

4. Vancouver Canucks (11-15-3, -19) – A weird story that may have escaped the attention of fans outside Vancouver: Canucks fans are furious at the team’s DJ situation.

The team made the decision to replace their longtime in-arena DJ this season, in the sort of move that teams make all the time without most fans even noticing. But this week, the new DJ did something inexcusable – they played Chelsea Dagger. That song still brings back painful memories for Canucks fans, and the choice to play it quickly became A Thing, to the point that even the owner had to weigh in.

It was a fitting end to an awful month. And it makes you wonder what other terrible memories the Canucks will accidentally force onto their fans in December. Mark Messier jersey retirement? Dan Cloutier hosting the intermission shoot-from-center-ice contest? Nathan Lafayette doing ads for Canada Post? The mind boggles.

3. St. Louis Blues (9-13-3, -11) – Hey, who’s up for some trade rumors? There’s been talk of a potential deal that could send Red Wings’ starter Jimmy Howard to St. Louis; Max Bultman breaks down some of the possibilities here.

I’m not sure this one makes a ton of sense for the Blues. Yes, they need to stabilize their goaltending, as they continue to be stung by Jake Allen’s inconsistency. No, I’m not sure a 34-year old coming off a .910 season is the answer. And it certainly isn’t the answer if the price involves high picks or prospects, which is what you figure the Red Wings would want. Selling high on Howard makes all sorts of sense for Detroit; buying high during a season that already looks like a write-off doesn’t work as well for St. Louis.

But on the bright side, at least Howard still has a bit of that old Norris Division vibe to his game.

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2. Chicago Blackhawks (9-13-5, -25) – This week was always going to be tough, as the schedule brought the last three teams left in last year’s Western Conference battle in the Knights, Jets and Predators, plus last night’s matchup with the Flames. But a point would have been nice. Not as nice: Giving up 22 goals while going 0-4-0. We knew not to expect too much from Cam Ward, but if Corey Crawford goes into any kind of prolonged slump, an awful Blackhawks season might find a new level of misery.

1. Los Angeles Kings (10-16-1, -24) – Sure, it may feel like nothing is going right in Los Angeles, but at least they should be able to get a decent pick or a prospect in a trade for Ilya Kovalchuk. [Checks newswire.] Yeah, nothing is going right in Los Angeles.

Not ranked: Montreal Canadiens – The Habs weren’t in any real danger of finding themselves in the bottom five this week, since competition is tough at this end – I couldn’t even find a spot for teams like the Devils or Panthers, or a Flyers team that just fired everyone. But a five-game losing streak was at least worth a mention.

The streak is done, thanks to Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Rangers, and it was nice to see a sputtering offense put up five goals, spurred on by a first-period pair from Shea Weber. But they were back to their losing ways last night against the Sharks. And in terms of the push for an unexpected playoff spot, the damage has already been done – they now sit tied with the Rangers for the final Eastern wildcard spot (although Montreal holds games in hand). A lot of the early-season shine has worn off this team.

Still, if you’d said the Habs would be holding down a playoff spot despite Weber missing 24 games and Carey Price struggling, most Montreal fans would have taken it. There’s still room for optimism here. Just not as much as there was seven games ago.

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The Athletic / The answer for women’s hockey is one league. The question is, how do we get there?

By Kaitlyn McGrath and Hailey Salvian, The Athletic – December 4, 2018

In five years, women from all across the globe will be playing in a North American-based professional hockey league.

It will feature the best players on the planet facing off against each other, night after night. Behind the benches, there are female coaches. And in the press boxes, there are female GMs.

The league is small — maybe six or eight teams. But teams are located in hotbed hockey markets. The stands in every home arena — albeit arenas still modest in size — are packed. Games will be broadcast on national television.

Most importantly, players are paid a liveable salary. It won’t be the millions their counterparts in the NHL make. (Not yet.) But in five years’ time, women will be paid to play, earning enough so they don’t have to juggle another job to make ends meet.

That, at least, is what people want women’s hockey to look like.

The Athletic asked individuals involved in women’s hockey — from current players to executives to ex- players — what they want the game to look like five years down the road. They all described a scenario resembling the one outlined.

And while the future of women’s hockey lies in unity, presently, women’s hockey remains divided. There are two leagues in North America, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, in its 12th season, and the National Women’s Hockey League, in its fourth.

Both league commissioners have said publicly that having one league is what’s best for the game. So far, though, any sort of merger has proven easier said than done.

The challenges of the two leagues becoming one are plentiful. But having a premier women’s pro league will pay dividends for the growth of the game. As the chorus of voices calling for one league grows louder, it’s time for the leaders in the women’s game to find a path to make it happen.

The CWHL was born in 2007, created by a group of players, with the help of volunteer business professionals after the former NWHL folded.

The CWHL has six teams, four in Canada — Montreal, Toronto, Markham and Calgary — one in Boston and an expansion team in China. (Last season, there were two Chinese-based teams but they have since merged).

For years, it was the only option women had to play hockey in North America following college. That is, until 2015.

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That year, the NWHL was founded by businesswoman Dani Rylan. In its first season, the league consisted of four teams — Buffalo, New York (since relocated to New Jersey), Connecticut and Boston. It’s since added a team in Minnesota.

While at heart, each league strives to grow the game of women’s hockey, the two leagues differ in their business approaches.

The NWHL is a for-profit league backed by a group of private investors. It was the first women’s hockey league to pay players. Initially, teams ran on a salary cap of $270,000 with player salaries ranging from $10,000-$26,000.

After its launch, there was an exodus of American players from the CWHL. With the lure of a salary, some Canadians left, too.

However, in its second season, the league ran into financial trouble. Salaries were cut in half to keep the league afloat. Today, $100,000 is allocated per team to pay players.

The CWHL, meanwhile, operates as a not-for-profit league, relying on revenue, sponsorships and donations. An elected board of directors helps steer strategic and financial planning.

The CWHL did not pay its players until 2017, after a landmark five-year deal to add a Chinese expansion team. The leagues budget reportedly grew by $1.5 million. The following season players were paid between $2,000-$10,000.

And so began the saga of two women’s hockey leagues. The talent was bifurcated, with each league trying to draw the best players to build the best product. That competition, however, could be healthy, said Sami Jo Small, a CWHL founder and current GM of the Toronto Furies.

“Having the NWHL has not been a bad thing for the CWHL,” she said. “I think having the NWHL has forced the CWHL to up their game — to get better at social media, to start paying their players.

“People talk about having one league. But if we never had the NWHL push us to do a lot of these things, I don’t know that we would have done them as quickly as we did.”

For women’s hockey to take the next step forward in its evolution, forces need to combine.

“I believe in one league and that’s the only way to go,” said Brenda Andress, who was the CWHL commissioner from 2007 through 2018. “And we believed that right from the beginning, and you know, Dani decided back then she wanted to try it. You can’t blame an entrepreneur for wanting to try something different, but I think everybody would agree out there that one league is the right way to go. I think it’s time.”

The skill in the women’s game is better than it was 10 years ago, observers will tell you. One league would only help to make it better, a plus for players and fans, said Erika Lawler of the Metropolitan Riveters.

“The reason I think it’s important to have one league is two-fold: It’s for us personally, as players, to develop and it will make a better product on the ice for everyone to watch,” she said.

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With all the world’s top players centralized, it would truly be the best-on-best competition that’s missing in today’s game outside of international competition. And if every player, not just national team members, could dedicate their life to hockey the skill level would only improve across the board.

“If you want to keep developing and keep improving it’s so important to be around people who are pushing you every day,” said Lawler. “You want everybody to be committed at the same level that you are and you want your teammates to challenge you and your opponents to challenge you too.”

A six-team league would force the cream to rise to the top. While the downside is roster spots would be limited, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, said Liz Knox, a goalie for the Markham Thunder

“If it happened this year, I would probably be out of a job,” said Knox, also a member of the CWHLPA. “But that’s what you want, though. You want the best product on the ice.”

Not to mention it would change the landscape internationally. Girls could grow up in Sweden, Finland, Russia, and beyond knowing they could one day pursue a hockey career, said Cassie Campbell-Pascall, a former Team Canada captain and supporter of one women’s league.

“To me, having a professional North American women’s league is going to grow the international game like we’ve never seen before,” she said. “I just think it’s so important for the survival of women’s hockey.”

If Olympic viewership is any indication, there’s an appetite for women’s hockey. The sport’s popularity peaks every four years — almost eight million people tuned into the 2018 Olympic final between Canada and the U.S. on NBC and CBC — but it wavers in between. If a league could replicate Olympic intensity, eyeballs could follow.

“We need all these people to come to games, buy tickets and sit in the stands and when you do that you can potentially have a greater opportunity to generate TV contracts and as you do that you create more fans,” interim CWHL commissioner Jayna Hefford said. “It’s a cyclical process, but I think when you get to the point when you have all the best players in one league that’s certainly a better selling point.”

Hefford is a four-time Olympic gold medallist with Team Canada. She remains the team’s second-highest scorer in history with 291 points and was recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the sixth woman to earn the honour.

In other words, she has done her fair share as a trailblazer for women’s hockey. But when Hefford was named CWHL interim commissioner this summer, replacing Andress, she set her sights on another goal: to be an architect behind a premier hockey league for women.

“My motivation is working every day to try to build the sport and do what I feel like is right,” Hefford said. “In my heart that is where I believe we need to get to. I think I would be proud and happy to be a part of that if I could help get the sport there.”

To get there, Hefford will need to work closely with Rylan, the NWHL commissioner.

After four years running the U.S.-based league, the 31-year-old recently told the Associated Press one league was “inevitable,” her strongest public endorsement of bridging the gap between the two leagues. Rylan expanded on her comments in an email to The Athletic, noting specifically her role in growing the sport in the U.S.

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“One league with the best players in the world and with teams in the U.S. and Canada has always been the logical next step after we started the NWHL. There wasn’t a league in the U.S. until 2015, and many people don’t seem to realize or want to acknowledge that,” she wrote. “We’ve built our league steadily, strategically. Thanks to our partners and staff, along with the fans and especially the players, we’ve made many strides in the NWHL in these three years, just as the CWHL has over the last decade. Now that we’ve begun to illustrate the value of women’s hockey and these great players, it’s time to come together to build one league for North America.”

How they will build it, however, remains a big question mark.

The biggest obstacle is their differing business models — not-for-profit vs. for-profit. Those opposing philosophies mean simply merging overnight is not an option.

There’s also the matter of which teams stay and which teams go. Between the leagues, there are 11 clubs — four in Canada, six in the U.S. (including two in the Boston area) and one in China. Most observers suggest the league should start with six, possibly eight, franchises in established hockey markets to ensure its viability.

“It’s not an easy fix,” Hefford said. “It’s not something you can throw two leagues together and say, ‘all right, here’s one league.’ I think people that understand business understand the challenges involved in it. Maybe it’s a little idealistic to believe it’s as easy as merging two leagues, but there’s a lot more to it than that.”

Hefford has talked to Rylan since becoming interim commissioner and she said the lines of communication between them remain open. However, it’s clear any discussions so far have been preliminary in nature.

But now that the major parties involved have made their visions clear, it’s on them to make it come to fruition. Players from both sides are counting on it.

“I think if there’s two people that are going to make it happen,” said Knox, “I really have a lot of faith in Jayna and I really think that her and Dani can find some common ground.”

The other commissioner in the mix is Gary Bettman, who has expressed his support of one women’s league.

While on a Calgary radio station in March, the NHL commissioner acknowledged interest in the women’s game, saying “if there were no league, the NHL would probably start one under the NHL umbrella.” But Bettman said then — and has repeated since — that the NHL is not interested in competing with either league.

In the early days of the CWHL, Andress tried to present the idea of a women’s league to the NHL, mirroring the original WNBA model where the NBA owned the teams. The idea never took off. Instead, Bettman suggested the CWHL establish partnerships with individual clubs.

Those alliances still exist today with NHL and CWHL teams in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary aligned. Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment has partnered with the league to host the All-Star game and the Clarkson Cup final at their facilities.

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South of the border, the New Jersey Devils have a partnership with the Metropolitan Riveters while the Buffalo Beauts were recently purchased by Terry and Kim Pegula, owners of the Buffalo Sabres. The NWHL has held its All-Star games in NHL arenas.

If the NHL wanted women’s hockey fully under its wing, though, they would want to do so on a “clean slate,” Bettman told the Associated Press. “If at some point the leagues say, ‘We’ve had enough, we don’t see this as a long-term solution, we’d like you to start up and we’ll discontinue operations,’ then we’ll do it. But we’re not pushing it,” he told the AP. “If we’re going to get involved, it cannot fail, which means it has to be on us.”

In an interview with The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek, Hayley Wickenheiser said: “I know the Canadian Women’s Hockey League would be happy to fold and hand it over to the NHL. They seem to be the reasonable people in all of this. The NWHL wants to make a go of it – or if they are going to hand it over to the NHL, want a lot of money to do so, and that doesn’t make any sense. So, I question the motives there.”

Multiple sources confirmed that with Andress at the helm, the CWHL was willing to dissolve to move ahead with an NHL-backed league, believing it was best for the future of the game. However, Andress wanted any subsequent league to continue to play a full season, pay players and include women in leadership roles, multiple sources from the CWHL said.

“She cared a lot about the league and she cared about the players and she wanted to make sure that if any decisions were made and any steps were taken that the league and the players would be looked after,” said Rebecca Michael, CWHL director of hockey operations.

Asked about the league’s position on dissolving, Andress said: “All I can tell you is the CWHL would have done what is right for women’s hockey and always will and always has.”

According to Campbell-Pascall, who was a longtime member of the CWHL board of directors, the NHL has always been a part of the league’s long-term vision.

“It’s communicated with sponsors on a regular basis, that the ultimate goal of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League is to have a league under the NHL umbrella, and they’re set up governance-wise, they’re set up sponsorship-wise,” said Campbell-Pascall.

Meanwhile, it stands to reason that with investors behind the NWHL product, the goal of that league — like any business — is to increase its value. From the NWHL point of view, folding would be counter to that. According to an NWHL source, “Dani Rylan doesn’t understand why the league should have to give up and cease operations for the NHL to be involved. She’d like to think we could all be part of the solution.”

Bettman told the AP he does not believe in either of their models.

Without knowing exactly how the NHL could be integrated into women’s hockey, players nonetheless were open to the idea of NHL involvement, citing the business acumen and marketing power behind the 31-team league could be an asset.

“I think definitely it would be incredible to have them jump on board and support us and do what they need to do to take this league to the next level,” said Erica Howe of the Markham Thunder.

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Since taking over the reins of the CWHL, Hefford has had discussions with Bettman about their visions, though she would only say his remarks matched what has been said in the media. Bettman has also been an advisor to Rylan in her role with the NWHL.

Based on public comments, it’s obvious the NHL will not become deeply involved until there is a mutually agreed upon resolution between the two leagues. But if the men’s league were to indeed support women’s hockey, what might it look like?

“Is there a possibility that it’s a women’s NHL? Certainly yes,” Hefford said. “Is it a possibility that it’s a league in partnership with the NHL? I think that could work. Is it a league that all the teams are in partnership with NHL teams, but they aren’t necessarily an NHL league? I think that could work. I think those are all the things that we are continuing to look at and evaluate and consider.

“I think if there is one thing that we are all on the same page about is that we need to get to one league,” she continued. “And when we do get to one league we need to make sure it’s a success.”

Campbell-Pascall is tired of all the talk. It’s time for action.

The three-time Olympian became vocal of her support for one women’s league earlier this year after she resigned as a CWHL governor in March, a decision that came on the heels of Bettman’s comments.

Campbell-Pascall is among those who believe the best way forward for women’s hockey is through the NHL.

“When I came out and said one league, it was about the NHL — it wasn’t about the NWHL and CWHL joining cause that’s not the process that it’s going to take,” she said. “For me, one league was, let’s get this WNHL going.”

Leaving the CWHL after spending the better part of 10 years there growing the league and securing sponsorships was difficult, she said, but necessary in order to add her prominent voice to the cause. More than six months later, though, the status quo in women’s hockey remains. Campbell-Pascall’s patience is wearing thin.

“I truly believe both commissioners know exactly what needs to happen,” she said. “So until it happens, the talking, it just goes in one ear and out the other.

“I feel bad for the current players because we are so close,” she added. “I believe we’re closer than we’ve ever been before and they just want to play. They just want to play in the best possible scenario and so it’s been difficult to watch the struggle and it’s been difficult to know what needs to happen in order for us to move in that direction and the fact that nothing is happening. I’m not even playing anymore and I’m extremely frustrated. I can’t even imagine what the players are thinking.”

Because, in the end, this whole matter is really about the players.

While current players preferred to highlight the progress made during their lifetimes — more opportunities for young girls to play, the emergence of pro leagues and compensation, growing fan bases — rather than dwell on the frustrations that still exist, there is no doubt there are times when they wish they did not have to fight for liveable wages, viewership, or one league.

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“We need one league and that part is the frustrating part because you’ve got people in the game who say they’re in it for the love of the game, for the growth of the game, but clearly their actions don’t really hold weight,” said Hilary Knight, who declined to elaborate on the “people” she was referencing. “I’m always a firm believer in talk doesn’t cook rice, so I think from the competitor standpoint in me, from the person who just absolutely loves the sport, from somebody who represents the sport in the U.S. or North America or in the world, I really want this problem to get ironed out.

“It’s actually a good problem to have. But at some point, we all need to sit down at the table and say, ‘Look, one league is in the best interest of the players, the fans and also the model moving forward.’ And I think the players have all the power in creating what they see fit for their league as we go forward.”

Which begs the question, what can the players do?

Wickenheiser suggested the top players in the world could refuse to play in either league until there is one.

“That would be a last-case scenario,” said Knight, who was a member of the U.S. national team that nearly boycotted the world championships during a standoff with USA Hockey for fair wages. “But if push comes to shove and we’re not making any movement, someone’s going to have to figure out what’s next … The top players in the world have these platforms that we can utilize and motivate.”

Meanwhile, Knox was cautious about pursuing such a drastic measure.

“I don’t know how it would be received, and I just know from talking to players that at the end of the day, we just want to play hockey,” she said. “It’s tough. It would be really tough for girls, who say, maybe that’s their last season, and we put forth a boycott. Who wants to go out like that?”

So here we are, and unfortunately, we’re still left with more questions than answers about the future of women’s hockey.

When will one league become reality? And what will it look like?

Will the NHL be involved, and if so, to what extent?

And if the two leagues can’t find a workable arrangement soon, will the players have to take a stronger stand?

There are questions about how it will get there, but everyone involved agrees one league is the answer for women’s hockey.

So what will women’s hockey look like in five years? We can’t say for certain. But if it were up to Hefford and Rylan — and, well, at this point it kind of is — here is what they envision.

Hefford: “Women (would be) playing in a league where they are earning a living wage, they don’t have to have other jobs to support themselves. I’d like to think they’d be in a situation where we’d have full arenas every night, may not be 20,000 seat arenas, but full arenas. And they (would) truly be professional athletes and people would pay to go and see them on a consistent basis. That’s where I’d love to see the game in five years or 10 years.”

Rylan: “In five years, I see professional women’s hockey thriving as a league across North America with 12 teams or more. We all know the talent can support it, and so will the rising popularity of our sport. I

54 also believe we’ll have a committed broadcast partner that will help drive the exponential growth of the girls’ game. From the beginning, our viewpoint has been that if you can see it, you can be it. As the league continues to grow, so will our revenue streams and players’ salaries.”

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